


p.s. written in blue ink

by meliapis



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: Boys Being Boys, Car Accidents, Cults, Demons, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Ghosts, Maybe smut? We'll see, Paranormal, Paranormal Investigators, Sibling death mentioned, teens being stupid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:55:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 36,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21879973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meliapis/pseuds/meliapis
Summary: The move was supposed to fix everything. They were going to start fresh, leave behind the mess in New Jersey, and try to be a normal family again.She knew it was bullshit from the start. What she didn't know was that she'd be moving into such a madhouse apartment complex, and that an old school mate of hers had escaped to this shit hole town, too.Funny, how that works, two different, broken families running to the same spot. Sal gets it.And he thinks she gets it, too.
Relationships: Sal Fisher/Reader
Comments: 82
Kudos: 269





	1. blue ink

It was late when they passed the town line, night having crawled across the sky at a rapid pace due to the cold season. The snow hadn't helped with the whole moving process; icy roads slick and buried six feet under. Didn’t help your parents either as they swore at each other over which way was the  _ right _ way to the apartments. Bickering over the directions was normal— _ this  _ was normal. She’d keep telling herself that until it stuck. 

Music kept her sated for the majority of the car ride, blocking out the fluctuating attitudes of the Mr and Mrs. The headphones were worn beyond use yet somehow they were still snug against her head.  Probably because his head was always the bigger of the two. The playlist currently playing was on repeat. She knew the songs by heart it was almost annoying but it was better to drown in the familiar, if only to lose sense of the world around her and not think for once. She’d always been good about not using her head so why was it so hard now? 

_ “For the last fucking time, the turn was on the other street!” _

_ “You expect me to see where to turn with all this snow? All the street signs are practically covered!” _

_ “You’re just blind—“ _

She dug a finger into the volume stud, wishing the guitar solo would just embed itself into her eardrums and stay there. She didn’t need to hear as long as music bled through. Wasn’t like she listened to anything else—they were all meaningless conversations, empty words and promises. She didn’t want anymore apologies or “bless your heart”s. If she heard a single one she’d blow a gasket then and there and only a crater would be left behind; they’d say it was a grenade, not some teenage girl with trauma. 

The car coming to a halt. There hadn’t been any warning, she’d shut her eyes for a few seconds and they’re suddenly there? One look proved they’d somehow made it one piece and God the place was uglier than she expected. Who thought green would be a good color on a deteriorating stack of bricks? 

The music was blasting, yet she could still make out their voices. The slamming of car doors muffled them somewhat, and soon nothing but the creak of the trunk opening was heard through the techno beat. Relief flooded her muscles and her shoulders slumped as she tilted her head back against her seat. She sighed something too melancholy for the song that was playing. 

Huffing at a distant thought,  one where she noticed he never listened to sad songs , a wry smirk tugged at her lips before she turned to stare at  his her backpack. She unfastened her seat belt before slipping her arm through a strap and manhandling the door open. If you didn’t let this car know who’s boss you’d quickly find yourself smacked in the head or a leg caught where it shouldn’t be. 

Stepping out already rendered one foot in a snowy pit, soaking the bottoms cuff of her jeans and the sock folded over her boot. She shuddered, allowing the biting wind tugging at her hair to wash over her before deciding it wasn’t that bad. Sure, a nice warm bed was preferred above all else most of the time, but the cold was nice. Great for numbing all perception if you were desperate enough. 

Shouldering the door, she set her other foot into the snow and marched a few paces before letting the cursed thing slam back shut itself. It had bruised one too many ankles and ripped out more stray hairs than she could count, but not today and hopefully never again if she could help it. 

Noticing her parents standing by the trunk, she focused on the shadows cast on the glistening ground, red tail lights painting a scene all too morose for her tastes. She approached her mother, opening a hand towards her ready to ask. She didn’t have time to blink as the keys were shoved into it. She didn’t need to mute the music to read the woman’s lips. 

_ Go ahead and check in. We’ll be up in a bit. _

She already planned to if the holding out a hand thing wasn’t obvious enough. But who cares, the set of keys were in her possession and she’d rather face a stranger than stay there at that moment. 

Wading up the submerged driveway, she made it to the front door with her shoes intact. Her pants were done for from the kneecaps down, and she didn’t think twice about her socks or the snowflakes melting in her hair. She did think twice about moving here (again) when her eyes roved over what must be the lobby. Sad, just utterly sad. Brown on brown was not a good interior choice, that was for sure. 

Stamping her feet against a poor excuse of a welcome mat, she carefully walked towards a cluster of mail cubbies, ignoring the frosted window and taking care not to slip. A sign reading “WELCOME HOME” had her mentally rolling her eyes before her sights were set on the bulletin board. Nothing popped out at her so she returned to the former target: the mail sorter. It was doubtful they’d have any so soon, but she checked nonetheless. She was glad she had; her eyes ticked just the slightest bit wider at the sight of a single envelope. Junk mail, had to be, but no. As she slipped it from the small, metal confinement, she found another loud “WELCOME” written on the front in somewhat neat handwriting with far too many exclamation points. 

Glancing either way, she took a chance and went ahead with reading the contents. It was the usual spiel, warm salutations and the mention of the upcoming holidays and whatnot. Apparently a “Lisa Johnson” was writing to her family, the caretaker of the building. She seemed sweet enough, not everyone went through the trouble of writing a personal greeting card. 

At the bottom was a P.S. in a different handwriting and color. The black switching to a vibrant blue threw her for a bit before she began reading. 

_ Hey, I’m Sal from room 402 (I guess that makes us floor neighbors?). Lisa mentioned that you had a kid my age and I’m stoked to meet her. There’s a couple other families with kids here that are super friendly so don’t be shy to come by and introduce yourselves! My dad would be happy to meet you, too. I’ll show your daughter around whenever she’s comfortable, so yeah. Welcome to Addison Apartments.  _

Chill and to the point. She liked that. The name was unisex so she couldn’t be sure of the gender but it wasn’t like she had a preference. She really didn’t plan to get to know the people around her if she could help it. Making new friends and all that would just make it worse in the undeniable future. She knew there was only so much time left before things fell apart for the big grand finale of the shitfest she called life. Why drag people down with it? Best to be a hermit. It was a safe path.

Folding up the letter, she shoved it into one of the deep pockets lining the inside of the jacket she wore and locked the cubbie back before moving on. She still needed to check in. 

The first door seemed to be the best bet as there was no front desk or anything like that. Maybe that was only for hotels? Fuck is she knew, she was used to the white picket fence scene, not a creepy old apartment building. 

Knocking with some oomph, she balanced on the balls of her feet, hands in her pockets as she waited for an answer. None came. She knocked again, hoping the owner wouldn't be too much of an asshole after being woken up in the middle of the night. This time there was a distinctly metal creak heard, urging her to look down towards the mail slot, but it was closed. The door’s to the left of her, however, was not, leaving her faced with a pair of dark, beady eyes that sent shivers down her spine. 

What the fuck. 

“Ah, one of the new tenants, I presume?”

What. The. Fuck. 

“Uh, yeah,” she murmured, uneasy with the fact she was interacting with only a pair of eyes. “You the owner?”

“Mr. Addison at your service!” His eyes squinted in what she could only assume was glee. Or he could be judging her. She’d never know the difference. As uncomfortable as she was, she edged close so he wouldn’t be staring sideways at her but left ample pace just in case.  “Do forgive me for this strange way of greeting you, I have my reasons, I assure you.”

She wasn’t going to mention the oddity if he didn’t. Nice to have it out and over with, though. “No complaints here, sir.”

“How polite! Never enough of polite kids in this time and age.”

_ Okay boomer. _ “Is there anything I need to do to check in?” 

“Right, I have your extra key. Your father requested for a third, for you no doubt. Other than that, you’re set to head on up, miss. Do send your parents down sometime tomorrow, though, so I can properly meet them, yes?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Perfect, then I’ll just go fetch that key of yours.” The mail slot creaked close for a few moments, leaving her enough time to make a terrified face towards the ceiling before masking her discomfort. He was probably just a germophobe or something. There was nothing to worry about.

Soon enough the slot opened again and a hand stuck out, holding a single key. She thanked him, plucking it out of his grip, careful not to touch any part of his hand. 

“Strange thing for someone to have,” he hummed in an almost whisper, eyes narrowed again. “Though, not uncommon, I suppose.”

“Huh?” She didn’t have anything besides the keys and her backpack. Was it strange to have three copies? She didn't think so—made sense if everyone wanted to get into the apartment.  


“Oh, nothing, nothing! Just the ramblings of an old man. Have a good rest of your night.”

The slot closed and she was on her own again. That should have eased her discomfort but after that last comment she was confident she wouldn’t be sleeping soundly tonight. 

The ride up to the fourth floor was a silent one. Music wasn’t necessary with nothing to drown out, well, that and she was scared she’d miss hearing something and potentially be a murder victim in this decrepit building. If the tenants were as strange as the owner than she definitely wanted nothing to do with them, her age or not. 

The hall was empty when she stuck her head out of the elevator. It made sense with how late it was, probably getting close to two by now. 

Glancing at the numbered plates on the wall had her going left, passed 403. Unlocking the door to their new apartment was quick work and so was shutting it straight after. The lights were off but the faint glow of the moon was enough to see the living room. It was empty, save for a couch and table. Minimal furnishing had been a choice but not hers. Used stuff she was more than okay with (she had practically lived at the thrift shop at her old home), but the state of this place had her rethinking that opinion. What if someone had died on those cushions? They’d never know. 

Flipping on the light left her with a better view of the small apartment. It was pretty clean much to her relief. The kitchen to the far right was still dark due to its’ light switch being over in that vicinity but she didn’t feel like going all that way to put forth the effort. Her room was far more important. 

The first bedroom had the biggest bed frame so that left her shuffling into the next one. Just thinking about helping her father with the mattresses had her groaning as she threw her bag into the floor. Fuck moving. It was too much work. 

And too much work, it was. 2:45 AM lit up her alarm clock as she set it up, boxes crowding her once empty room and mattress crooked on the frame. The pillows and coverings were wrinkled atop it as well as some stuffed animals she managed to save from the garage sale two weeks ago. 

“Clock set up?” Her mother asked as she walked in. She frowned at the mess already strewn across the floor before setting eyes on her. 

“Couldn’t find my sheets.” 

“Uh huh, well set your alarm to six. You’re still going to school tomorrow.”

“Are you kidding me? It almost three in the morning!” she argued.

“It’s not my fault your father got us here this late. You promised you’d go to school tomorrow so you’re going.”

“Can I at least sleep in?”

“No, you’re not gonna be late on your first day.”

“Great. Any other great news you wanna share with me while you’re at it?” she grinned, eyes burning with unbridled teenage rage. 

“You’re taking the bus from now on. Goodnight.”

With that, the door shut on her grabbing a pillow off her bed and screaming bloody murder into it. Her bedroom lights flickered weakly from above and she glared up at them once she noticed the malfunction. 

“Go out, I dare you,” she whispered. If the electricity blew, then her alarm wouldn’t work thereby decreeing a late start to her day (at the very least). Of course, that wasn’t to be as he lights settled, still burning bright. Whatever. It wasn’t like she was getting a good night’s sleep to begin with. 

Three hours came and went and after tossing and turning for the first hour, she decided she’d just stay up and unpack. The less she had to do when she got home the better and she wanted to listen to her records as soon as possible. Music was her gateway out of this new hellhole. 

Two doors (and technically an elevator in between) over, an alarm went off the second hers did, pulling a boy from the throes of deep sleep. He struggled to find the snooze without turning over and eventually sacrificed his comfortable position to silence the deafening siren. 

Sighing into his pillow, he waited a moment before pushing up from his mattress. A yawn tore through his chest as he stretched, fumbling for the glass of solution and the counterfeit eyeball within it. 

His morning routine proceeded as normal, brushing his teeth and doing his hair up before securing the prosthetic and changing into a long sleeve shirt and jeans. The usual sneakers should’ve been swapped with snow boots but he refused to walk with the bulk weighing him down. He already had to deal with the thick jacket his dad shoved him into after finding out he’d only been wearing hoodies since the snow began to fall. 

Larry had called him an "Oompa Loompa" for laughs and the very next day he was dressed from head to toe in the correct seasonal attire. With his mom having gotten sick, she’d made him swear to dress appropriately. She couldn’t have him coming down with what she had, too. Karma was ever so sweet. 

Despite the shitty wardrobe change, they found themselves grateful to have such caring parents. Also, they didn’t have to pretend to be too cool for the cold and wouldn’t suffer for the rest of the winter months. 

Slipping the ski jacket on, he finished getting dressed and said goodbye to Gizmo who dozed at the edge of his bed. A few long pats down his fuzzy back and he was purring his own farewell, needing at the comforter instead of waving. How lazy. 

Exiting his room, Sal paused before backtracking and grabbing his school stuff then promptly made his way towards the kitchen to refill the kibble and water bowls. He was quiet as to not wake his dad, knowing he’d been up late working on some work project or another. Honestly, the man needed a winter break and Sal was begging for the sweet release of his own in the upcoming weeks. Finals were going to be a pain in the ass. 

Locking the door behind him, he hesitated as he picked up the scent of food. No one usually was up this early on his floor, so maybe someone below them? Whoever it was, they’re cooking sent his stomach into a grumbling fit. He crossed his arms to try and tame the roar of hunger while shuffling towards the elevator. Once inside he rang Larry on the walkies-talkies he’d gifted him last Christmas due to the whole ghost hunting fiasco. 

“Sally Face to Larry Face, do you copy?”

There was static before a beep echoed from the device.  _ “Yeah,”  _ he yawned,  _ “I copy, over.” _

“You dressed for school yet?”

_ “I’m just gonna wear what I wore yesterday again.” _

“Dude, that’s disgusting.”

_ “What better way to use deodorant than to mask the smell of odor, my dude?”  _

“Ugh, well then layer it on. Oh, before I forget,” he said, reminding himself. “The Gear Boy went off last night.”

_ “Think it’s that demon again?” _

“I don’t think so. It only lasted long enough to wake me up and was quiet for the rest of the night.”

_ “Well, I dunno what to tell you man. Hopefully it was just a glitch.” _

“Maybe…” Shaking his head, he enjoyed the feeling of his pigtails swishing about before pocketing the device. The elevator doors opened just then and he made his way out to begin his journey to the ill-fated bus stop.

Passing by Mr. Addison’s door, Sal was surprised to find the mail slot open and two eyes peering out. 

“Morning, Mr. Addison,” he said. 

“Ah, and a good morning to you, Sally Face. Off to school, I hope?”

“Yep. Can’t miss out on all the study guides their passing out for finals.”

“What fun,” chuckled the owner, eyes slinking back to the right from where Sal had come. 

“Are you waiting for someone?”

“Someone? Perhaps, if that’s what it is—a someone.”

He was used to the cryptic things around the buildings as well as the uncanny Mr. Addison, but not so much the both of them at the same time. The man usually didn’t offer much in the way of conversation when it came to the strange and unusual, writing off the ghost adventures as a “big imagination.”

_ “Besides,” _ he’d said one evening a year ago,  _ “ghosts are bad for business.” _

He was right about that. Only crazy people moved into a haunted building, that or they were desperate for a change of pace. 

“Well, I should get going,” he sighed. “Bus will be here soon and someone has to stall the driver for Larry.”

“That boy has a distorted sense of time. The world doesn’t stop spinning just so you can catch up, you know. Remember that, my boy.”

“Thanks, Mr. Addison. Have a good day.”

As he walked away, his keen sense of hearing picked up on the mumbling of the owner behind him. 

“Two polite kids in my building, how lucky. Guess the one with the glasses could be the third if he’d bothered to greet me once in a blue moon…”

Oh, Todd. Yeah, Todd wasn’t much a people person if he could help it. He preferred studying and electronics over socializing—unless it was his friends, of course. 

Heading outside, Sal was hit with the realization that it  _ was _ winter and it was undoubtedly the  _ coldest _ winter he’d felt in years. It must’ve stopped snowing last night because the powder crunched beneath his feet, proving its frozen state as he trekked down the driveway. Luckily, the roads had been shoveled so there was a visible sidewalk to use as well as a road for the time being. 

One day he’d have a car, he thought as he strolled, head ducked and shoulders hunched in an effort to fight off the chill. That day just wasn’t today. 

In the midst of walking, he picked up on a rumbling sound and slowed, staring at his surroundings. Was that thunder? The sky wasn’t dark and there hadn’t been a storm announced on the weather channel last night. 

As the sound grew louder, he found himself looking over his shoulder just as something flew passed him. In the split second of alarm, he recognized a human shape passing by as well as a pair of eyes meeting his before the were skating further down the sidewalk. 

It was a  _ skateboard _ . That made sense. Now that he thought about it, he didn't know anyone who skateboarded. Maybe someone at his school but no one on his street, that was for sure. So curiosity struck him when the person skidded to a halt by the bus stop. The backpack eluded to the fact they were a student, but the hood over their head hid just who it might be. (At the far back of his mind he noticed how they weren’t dressed for the season, and while they were probably freezing their asses off, at least they still looked cool.)

As they kicked their board up into their hand, he was finally able to catch a glimpse of their face as they turned to stare out at the road. Unfortunately, a scarf hid the bottom portion, but he felt their gaze glance in his direction as he approached, allowing him to get a good look of their eyes. Not like it revealed much, but still. Nice eyes. 

He put a comfortable space between them as they both waited for the bus, silence breeding the tension that came with being strangers. He wondered how he should introduce himself before noticing the cartoons on the front of their shirt. 

“What’s up, doc?” he greeted, not even attempting to match the famous Bugs Bunny accent. 

“Huh?” A soft voice. Again, didn’t reveal much. 

“Your shirt. You like _Looney Tunes_?”

“Oh,” they murmured, their nose slipping from under their scarf as they looked down at themselves. The jacket they wore was a bit big on them, sleeves hiding their hands as they pulled the shirt forward to get a better look at the faded image. “Yeah, I mean, who doesn’t like cartoons?”

“Heartless people,” he said, shrugging. “Or the kind of adults that send their kids to boarding school.”

“Damn, got that right,” they huffed, seemingly loosening up just a but. He hoped they weren’t as uncomfortable as they were upon first seeing the mask. It was easy to put people off if you were dressed like something akin to Mike Myers. He was able to catch a break around Halloween so that was nice, but nearing Christmas? No such luck. 

“I’m Sal,” he introduced offering a hand. “Friends call me—”

“Sally Face.” They stared at his hand before switching their board from one to the other and grasping his. “You’re the blue ink, makes sense with your hair and all.”

It was his turn to be confused now. How did they already know his nickname? Did another tenant talk to them before he did?

“How did you…” The crinkling of paper doused his question as they withdrew a piece of parchment from inside their jacket. The crumpled paper was unfolded to reveal the welcome letter he’d help Lisa write a few days ago when she had been feeling a bit better.

“You’re the new tenant!” 

“And your Sal, room 402.”

“So you read the letter, then. Cool, but, uh, how did you know my nickname?”

They looked towards the ground, shuffling their feet as they shoveled snow off the curb with the end of their skateboard. “We used to go to the same school.”

“Wow, really? I mean, I guess it’d be kinda hard to forget someone like me.”

“Well, don’t say that like it’s a bad thing,” she huffed, tone amused as she shifted her body towards him. She cleared her throat before pulling scarf away from her face, saying, “You were probably one of the chillest guys at that school if I’m being honest.”

Sal studied the dark circles under her eyes and bits of hair slipping from the hood. She looked tired but she rocked the whole “I don’t give a flying fuck” look that Larry tried and failed to accomplish way back when. He’d accepted he was more of a laid-back punk than anything else—it had just taken some time to sink in. 

Oh and she was attractive. Sal’s mind let  _ that _ sink in pretty quickly as soon as her eyes met his. Fuck, how did he not remember her from his old school? He feel like he’d at least remember a skater girl at the least.

“I’m gonna sound like a total asshole, but I don’t remember your name.”

She rolled her eyes, the corners of her lips twitching as she faked a dramatic sigh. “I can’t  _ believe  _ you don’t remember the name of a classmate that shared next to no classes with you.”

That pulled a relieved chuckle out of him as she relayed her name. He tried to recall it and an ancient memory occurred to him. “Don’t you have a—”

“Hey, I made it on time!” 

They both swiveled around at the new voice. The human being that wore his dirty clothes three days in a row, aka his best friend, was making his way towards them at his own leisurely pace with his hands in his jacket’s pockets and a lazy grin on his face. 

“It’s a miracle,” Sal joked and Larry shrugged, eyes switching to the newbie behind him. “This is the one of new tenants your mom talked about a few weeks ago. I think she got the dates mixed up.”

“Oh shit,” Larry breathed putting on his best smile, “we weren’t expecting you until tomorrow!”

“Yeah, well, mom wanted me to make a good first impression at school,” she mumbled.

“What time did you get in?” 

“You don’t wanna know, trust me.” She smirked at the greasy teen before looking down the road where the bus rattled towards them like a derailed train. It was deathtrap no matter how you looked at it, but it was  _ their _ death trap. Sal and Larry had graffitied the shit out of their seat in the back (perks of being one of the first pickups in the morning). There was a lot of sentiment there. 

“Well, welcome to Addison Apartments and soon, Nockfell High,” Larry said in a dreaded tone, entering the bus and making a b-line towards the back. 

“It’s not that bad,” Sal told her as he gestured for her to go first. “There’s plenty of cool teachers—biology does all sorts of neat experiments next semester so you can look forward to that.”

“You the brutally optimistic type, Sally Face?” she glanced over her shoulder and he felt his face heat up as he shrugged. 

“Try to be. Shit gets heavy around here sometimes.”

She hummed as she sat across from his and Larry’s seat, making herself at home as she lounged against the window. She left no room for another person to sit next to her should they have wanted to. 

“Well, good to know I have some cool neighbors, then.”

He took her putting on a pair of headphones and closing her eyes as a sign of ending the conversation. The music that blasted through sounded familiar but it definitely wasn’t Sanity’s Fall that was for sure. It sucked, she had been fun to talk to, but he didn’t blame her for trying to fit in a few more minutes of sleep before school. 

“Dude, she looks tired as shit,” Larry whispered as soon as the song blocked off all sense of hearing. “They must’ve gotten in super late.”

“Yeah. Maybe she can sleep during homeroom?”

“Only if she has Mr. Grimes. I swear he doesn’t give a shit what you do as long as you turn in your homework.”

“Have you tested that theory?”

Larry thought about it before sporting a wicked grin. “I know what I’m doing during homeroom today.”

Sal laughed as he dug through his bag to check if he had his homework together. Larry had reminded him with the topic, thankfully. He was sure he finished everything last night besides a few math questions. He always had enough time to finish them before sixth period so that was no big deal. 

“Did you do the science sheet?” Larry questioned, sticking his long nose in between Sal and his papers. 

“I’m starting to think you only keep me around to get homework answers from.”

“Dude, that’s what friends do. We cover each other. Also I got backup people in case you didn’t do it, so if you ever need some assistance, I got ya.”

“What a friend, that Larry Face.” He smiled beneath his mask, handing him the crumpled sheet. 

“Sweet!” 

While Larry hastily scribbled down the answers, Sal found himself checking on the new girl again. From the looks of it she was conked out for the rest of the ride. It kind of made him feel bad. Running on a lack of sleep was one of the worst things to go through, especially if school was involved. It being a Monday was just a kick to the face—shit, and finals were just around the corner too. This girl’s parents literally picked the worst time to move in. Hopefully they’d have a lot of classes together and he could lend her a hand with her shitty dealt of cards. Showing her around and getting her well acquainted with his friends could prove helpful. They had study sessions together. It’d be nice to add someone new to the group after all this time, too. 

“Hey did you bring the Gear Boy?”

Sal blinked and turned to Larry as he stared down passed his lap where the assignment laid unfinished. “Yeah, I always keep it around just in case. Why?”

“I think it’s going off.”

“What? We’re on the bus, that doesn’t make any…” 

It  _ was  _ going off. He felt the vibrations as he reached into his backpack at his feet. What the fuck? What was going on? This bus hadn’t been haunted for the year he’d been riding it. Had he missed some freak accident over the weekend? 

Seeing as no one else was on the bus yet, he went ahead and pulled it out into the open but before he could get a good look at the screen the buzzing suddenly stopped. Him and Larry were left to stare at each other in utter befuddlement.

“Malfunction?” guessed the latter.

“It’s never done that before, though.”

“Bullshit, you just said it went off last night and nothing was around.”

“Dude, the entire building is infested with spirits, it probably picked up on Megan in the bathroom upstairs or something.”  They both mulled over possible reasons, Sal staring passed Larry out the window. “Oh, we just drove by the cemetery? Maybe that’s what caused it?”

“Yeah, that’d make sense, I guess.”

The both of them didn’t fully believe it could’ve been the cause but ultimately they had nothing else to blame it on besides short circuiting. Sal would ask Todd about it later.


	2. black ink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Chrysler!
> 
> Also available on tumblr: https://meliapis.tumblr.com/post/189857454231/meliapis-chapter-one-blue-ink-the-reader-and
> 
> Please inbox me about the story or stuff SF related! I love messages

She wasn’t proud of herself. Falling asleep on public transportation felt wrong considering she’d only meant to lose herself to the rhythm of one of her favorite groups to date. And _maybe_ she had been trying to avoid talking to Sal and the other kid. Having been more than friendly starting out, it didn’t seem like a bad idea. She was supposed to keep her distance from the get go, anyway, but Sally Face showing up out of the blue sent her spiraling off that determined course. 

God, how long had it been since she’d seen him walking to class? Heard all the whispered rumors of just what was underneath that prosthetic? Two years, maybe three. Her inner clock had gone to shit after… Well, just _after_. That’s all she ever wanted to say about that. 

She wasn’t surprised he didn’t recognize her at the bus stop. She’d been telling the truth about them not having many classes together. No one paid attention in gym and even if he had, she had been an entirely different person back then. The group of friends she’d kept around her, the clothes, the attitude. Looking back she was too worried about the public standard and how people looked at her. 

That’s why she knew Sal—or Sally Face as it were—from back then. She’d fixated on how easily he rolled with the punches; how he had turned the childish slander into a famous nickname. She couldn’t have cared less what was beneath the mask. She just wanted what he had on the inside. Wanted to not care as much about the petty views and middle school assholes. So, she’d looked up to him from afar, mesmerized by the “kill ‘em with kindness” frame of mind.

When he’d stopped showing up it had crushed her because it proved that even the strongest cracked at some point or another, and if they did, how could she possibly hope to last? 

Now she knew how it felt to not care about how she represented herself, but her strength came from an entirely different standpoint and she didn’t try to be as sweet or as kind. 

She didn’t blame him for leaving. Of course, there was always a chance she could’ve been wrong about his reasoning. Dad could’ve gotten a new job or something, hell if she knew. Not like it mattered now. She had to focus on avoiding everyone, including him. _Especially_ him. Because unlike the rest of these blank faced strangers, he was the only one who might know. He was the only one who could ask that one fatal question and test just how strong of front she could put up. If she’d face the truth or go running.

Her thoughts on that possible issue? She’d put on a hell of a show for that crowd drowning in black, standing out like a busted pen on empty paper. She could do it one more time if he grew too curious. She could hide behind her own mask for protection, too.

“So you like disco?”

The world was hazy around the edges when she opened them again, having just been pulled from sleep by none other than Sally Face. He had been gentle about waking her up. It was sweet. She didn’t let the thought linger.

“Huh?”

“I could hear your music. ABBA, right?”

“You listen to ABBA?”

“Well,” his voice was higher, “not really, no. But I know them.”

“Too girly for you, then?”

She almost laughed at how fast he shook his head, pigtails threatening to hoist him into the air, spinning like the blades on a helicopter. “No! That’s not what I meant—”

“S’fine, I was just yanking your leg.”

A sigh bellowed from behind his cover-up as she slid passed him to follow the rest of the poor souls filing out of the bus for another day of hell on earth. Her shoes squeaked against the floor, stained and sticky from God knew what, fingers twiddling with the wire of her headphones that trailed to her hip where the portable CD player lied. A list began to form in her mind, holes scattered throughout due to her lack of sleep. She tried to recall what all she needed that would undoubtedly have her late to her first class (as all first days went for the new student). The office would be her next stop. Had to secure her schedule and a locker, lest she be stuck carrying her skateboard all day. 

“So, what’s your first class?” asked Larry who, to be honest, she’d forgotten about until he made his existence known just then. 

She glanced over at him, long legs allowing him to keep a good pace with her no matter how fast she went. 

“Gonna go find out,” she said, putting forth a bit more effort to book it from the duo. “It was nice meeting you guys. See you around.”

“Do you need help finding the office?” offered Sal because why wouldn’t he? Nothing had changed since middle school. He was still a kind-hearted kid.

“Thanks but I’ll find it on my own,” she called, already a good few paces away from them. With a lazy wave over her shoulder, she booked it into the crusty-looking building and made a hard right as that seemed to face the front of the school or so she hoped.

The bell had already rung by the time she had all of her stuff in hand. The locker took some time as the combination only wanted to work the fourth or fifth time around. 

Opening up to a shelf splitting the space in two had her gritting her teeth before ripping the damn thing out and stuffing it into her book bag. The school would get it back by the end of next semester or whenever they had to change lockers again. Possibly. There was a good chance. 

Carefully jamming her skateboard into the tall but limited space, she checked her scheduled for her first class while writing her combination on her hand in case the little slip of paper decided to go missing. Seeing the black ink smudge on her palm, she went ahead and copied it to her schedule to fall back on if fate proved cruel and she had to wash her hands. By the looks of the halls, she’d rather wait to do her business at home. That being said, if nature called she’d have no choice but to answer. 

Having history as her first class of the day could go either way depending on her amount of sleep. With all the excitement of being surrounded by new people, she doubted she’d fall asleep in any of her classes today but she couldn’t be so sure of the future. 

The class wasn’t too hard to find with all the numbers printed clearly on the wall next to the doors. Peeking through the window revealed a dimly lit classroom, but after searching for a few seconds, she realized a movie was playing on a television up front. 

Nah, who was she kidding. That was definitely some boring ass documentary.

She did her best to be quiet as she entered, but movement drew the human eye no matter how good your stealth skills were. She did her best to ignore the stares as she made her way across the room, ducking behind the tv and heading towards the teacher’s desk in the front corner. He had already seen her at this point, scooting out from under his desk to turn and greet her in his chair.

“Good morning.”

“Hi,” she whispered, introducing herself. “I’m a new student here.”

“Ah, I see.” He nodded and turned his attention to his class, eyes roving over the students behind his thick-rimmed glasses. 

He hummed, “There are a few empty desks in the back so choose whichever you’d like. I’ll go fetch you your textbook and here”—he handed you a few sheets of paper stapled together—“is the study guide for your final. Tell me if you have any questions, alright? I know this isn’t the best time to be moving schools.”

“Thank you, sir. I think I can manage.”

“Alright then, go ahead and take a seat and feel free to get started on that packet. Or you can waste time with the documentary and finish it at home, completely up to you.”

From his tone she knew which he’d rather her be doing.

As he stood from his chair, she started for the back of the class with her head down and chose the first seat available that had no one in front or next to it. It was an exceptionally small class but she wasn’t complaining. Allowed more one-on-one time with the teacher if students didn’t understand the material. 

Her shoulders tensed as she spotted someone moving to the desk on her left. She ignored them, reaching into her book bag to find a pencil before setting it at her feet.

“Looks like we have first period together,” came a quiet, familiar voice. 

Fucking shit.

She glanced at Sal, hiding her growing anxiety. She wasn’t going to catch a break with this boy, was she?

“Can I see your schedule?” His head tilted and she couldn’t find the heart to say no as she pulled the sheet out from underneath the study guide. He hesitated before his fingers could skim the edge and she looked up at his face, confused as he stared at the ground for a moment.

“You, uh,” he cleared his throat, “you don’t have to, if you don’t want to.”

Shit. Fuck. Did she have a resting bitch face? She was being nice but maybe he was picking up on her whole “avoid anything and everything that breathes” goal. 

“What do you mean?” she asked softly.

“I don’t know. I feel like I might be annoying you? You seemed like you wanted to be by yourself on the bus and if you do, I _totally_ get it—”

She looked away, heart picking up its pace. “I’m sorry, I know that was rude.”

“No!” He winced at his higher volume and quickly righted it as a few people turned around to openly glare at them, most of which appeared to be doing their work. “No, I mean you wanted to sleep, right? Or block out the world for a bit? I get it.”

He got some of it, yeah. It hurt that he was being so considerate and she hated herself for even making him _think_ he was an annoyance. God, this wouldn’t have happened if her mom hadn’t forced her to take the bus. She could have avoided all of this if one of her parents would’ve got off their asses and drove her to school. Or let her drive, either one.

“Hey, are you okay?”

She blew out a breath, trying not to look pissed off. She hated that question no matter who asked it.

“Yeah, I just...” She drifted off as the teacher re-entered the room, approaching with a textbook in his possession. Sal righted himself in his seat as he came between the two of them, laying the hunking mass of printed bullshit on her desk. 

“Here you are. Already making friends, I see. That’s good,” he commented, nodding at the boy. “Sal’s one of my best students. Maybe he could help you out with the final coming up.”

“Maybe,” she muttered, not missing the hesitant glance from the star pupil. 

“I’ll leave you to it, then. Welcome to Nockfell High.”

She nodded, thanking the teacher. There was a tense silence as he walked away. She filled it by opening the textbook to the table of contents. Mmhm, yeah. She knew some of these words.

“I know we, uh, don’t really know each other,” Sal said after a while, urging her to look at him again. He wasn’t turned towards her, too busy picking at some frayed strings of his jeans. She idly wondered how he could stand to wear ripped pants in such cold weather. It was kind of kick ass in a stupid teenage sort of way, like he was rebelling against the social norm of bundling up like that kid in Christmas story. The train of thought derailed when he continued to speak.

“I just know what it’s like to be the new kid around here, so I wanted to help where I can. But if you have it covered I’ll leave you alone. I just, um… It was nice for me to have made some friends before school started and you didn’t really get that chance, so…”

He went quiet and she had to fight back a smile at the sight of his ears glowing a prominent red. 

A soft snort left her nose. Turning, she covered her mouth before a laugh could slip out, missing the jerk of his head as his wide blue eye studied her in absolute horror.

“You’re super cute, Sally Face.” She grinned at him, unable to hide it. “Sweet, too. Thanks for being so welcoming.”

“U-uh, yeah, no-no problem,” he said.

She hoped he wasn’t too embarrassed as his ears didn’t seem to be cooling off at all, but she wanted him to know she appreciated his help even if it hadn’t looked like it in the beginning. 

“Guess I was just trying to be the cool new mysterious girl—lone wolf type, you know?”

_“Trying?”_

She rolled her eyes at the feigned awe in his voice and grabbed her schedule again, offering it with a gentle smile on her lips. “You make it hard to say no to the whole friend scene. Hope you aren’t tired of me by the end of the day.”

He accepted it this time, studying the classes with interest. His mask shifted slightly on his face, the bottom of the eyeholes rising to hide them just a smidge. Was that… Was he smiling?

He turned towards her and she blinked, playing off her staring the best she could. “Any teachers I should be worried about?”

He shook his head, handing the paper back. “No, and even if you did, you’d have my help with them. We have everything but the class before lunch together. You’ll have Larry and Ashley, though.”

“Who’s Ashley?”

That question opened the floodgates because for the rest of the class Sal sat there telling her about his group of friends, three of which lived in the apartments (including Larry). She was intrigued, enjoying the way he described them and the adventures they had together since he arrived last year. They sounded like cool kids. 

Maybe getting close to a few people here wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Sure, she didn’t know what the future entailed for her quarreling parents, but… Life was about taking chances right? He would have wanted her to be happy.

“He’s always begging Todd to let him copy his work,” Sal said, explaining Larry and his horrible habit of not getting his work done on time. The two of them were making their way to their second class of the day, which happened to be english. He’d said it was mostly busy work at this point as their final was to write an essay about one of five topics they could choose from on a play they’d read earlier. Luckily, it was one she already knew of. Thank God all schools taught the same basic plays by Shakespeare. 

“What are friends for?” she joked.

“Sorry, I kind of rambled there.”

She shrugged. “Don’t apologize. You have cool friends, dude. Flaunt it.”

“Yeah, well, everyone is split into their own groups around here and mostly keep to themselves so I thought I’d tell you about mine.”

She leveled him with a raised eyebrow. “How much do they keep to themselves? Do I not have to worry about teenage angst and drama?”

He looked at her, mask telling her he was smiling again. “It wouldn’t be high school without it.”

“Damn, gave me false hope for a second there.”

He laughed and she seemed to be good at causing that, somehow. Nowadays she could barely get a smile out of her parents.

“You know, it’ll be really nice having you around. You can tell me how New Jersey's been since I left.”

“Nothing’s changed. Trust me,” she sighed, stopping in front of her new locker. Well, “new” being used loosely as it looked like it could be older than her great grandmother. The combination lock seemed to have done a one-eighty during class because it opened on the first try.

“How did you get that to fit?” Sal asked, gawking at her board. “Wasn’t there a shelf?”

“Yeah, there _was_ ,” she breathed. “I’ll put it back later.” She stuffed her textbook inside to keep her board company. There was no way she was loading that around all day either, including the study guide stuffed into the cover. 

“Did your bag not fit?”

“No, I just didn’t put it in there.”

They both stared at the inside of the locker, the space cut in half diagonally by her favorite pastime when the roads weren’t iced over.

“ _Can_ it fit?” Sal asked, tone interrogative.

“Don’t I need it?”

“Well, technically we’re not supposed to carry it around, so…”

She sighed, head falling back as she glared at the ceiling. 

“If it’s any consolation, I believe in your smushing skills.”

A short, amused “hah!” came in reply before she pushed her sleeves up to her elbows. “Better get this over with before we’re late, then.”

Ultimately, she did make it fit, she just had to put the history textbook in the bag to utilize the room. After that, the pair of them made a dash for english, ignoring the shouts of some snotty hall monitor about running. 

Somehow, the first day at a new school on barely half an hour of sleep proved to be one of the greatest days she’d had in awhile (minus the jerkwad named Travis who’d insulted them at lunch). Sal’s friends had practically adopted her by the time they were finished with their food, and her and Larry had hit it off a bit better during their shared lunch period where he spent half the class doing the most obnoxious shit possible to try and annoy the teacher. Apparently, the man was hard to anger.

On the way back from school, Sal caught her up on what to expect for finals and how the group was having study sessions every wednesday and sunday to prepare. She was relieved when he’d extended an invitation. School subjects hadn’t been her top priority for some time now and she’d need to make perfect scores to make up for some shit ones back in New Jersey. 

“We usually study at Larry’s since his mom is always working around the building during the day,” Sal explained.

Larry nodded, backing the info. “Yeah, she’s makin’ snacks for all of us, by the way. “Brain food” or whatnot, heh.”

“I already love her,” she stated. 

“Whoa man, at least take her on a classy date first!”

The three of them broke out into laughter as they entered Addison Apartments, stomping the snow from their shoes. Sal nearly slipped as soon as he took a step off the welcome mat, forcing another few seconds of amusement as they made their way to the elevator.

The humor faded as she passed Mr. Addison’s door, the memory of him staring at her this morning suddenly fresh on her mind. It was like he’d been waiting on her to pass by...

“You okay, dudette?”

She smirked at Larry, waving off her discomfort as she shrugged. “Yeah, just thinking how I’m gonna woo your mom. How’s a candlelight dinner sound?”

He shook his head at her, but he was still smiling as they piled into the elevator. “Whatever. She’s sick right now so save the romancing for later, yeah?”

She frowned. “Oh, is she okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just a little cold. She always overworks herself this time of the year.”

“Oh, yeah, she was sick last year, too, wasn’t she?” asked Sal.

“Yep, but she’s making a quicker recovery.”

“Well, tell her I’m cheering her white blood cells on,” she told Larry as the elevator stopped on the basement floor.

“Will do. See you later.”

Sal and her shared their goodbyes as the door closed on his retreating form. The elevator began to rise and she watched the numbers of the floors change on the screen, fiddling with the rough, rounded edge of her skateboard.

“Sucks there’s no skateparks around here,” she muttered.

“Yeah. Would’ve been cool seeing you in your element,” Sal said.

“I’m not _that_ good.”

“I can’t attest to that because I’ve only seen you ride it once, but I doubt it.”

“Yeah, well—”

The ding of the elevator cut her off, opening to the muffled but obvious sound of a heated argument echoing down the hall. It wiped every last bit of a smile off her face as her grip tightened on her board.

Sal was silent, glancing at her. She felt the concern rolling off of him in waves.

“Is that…?”

“Yeah,” she murmured. Swallowing, she took a breath and casted a smirk his way. “Talk about embarrassing. Can’t leave ‘em alone for one minute.”

He didn’t have a response to that and she didn’t expect him to have one as she stepped out, switching her hand from the top of her board to its long side to hold at her hip. 

“Thanks for today,” she said, “I mean it. It was a lot of fun meeting everyone.”

“Except Travis.”

“Oh, yeah. _Fuck_ Travis.” She nodded in agreement, pausing as the yelling died down. Her head turned, a scowl pulling at her lips. “Guess that’s my cue. See you later, Sal.”

He waved as she turned, walking down the hall towards 404 with a weight to her step. She didn’t want to go in there. They’d try to cover it up or if they were really pissed at each other they wouldn’t even attempt to. She wasn’t sure which was worse. 

“Hey!” Sal called.

She turned before stepping in front of her door, observing him from afar as his hands curled into fists at his sides. 

“You should come over later,” he said. “I have a cat.”

It was easy to see what he was trying to do. Distractions could only do so much but a cat would be _loads_ better than music right about now. Her volume could only go so high. 

“You have a cat?”

“Yeah. Gizmo. His name’s Gizmo. You’d like him.”

She cracked a smile and nodded. “Okay. Listen for a knock, then, yeah?”

“Yeah,” he coughed. “Uh, see you later.”

With that, she turned and opened her front door, leaving him behind in the hallway to face her day-to-day life with a dead expression. 

He watched her disappear into her apartment, fingernails digging into his palms and threatening to break skin. Nerves were buzzing, thoughts swimming as silence reigned. He wondered how often her parents fought like this for her to roll with it so easily. He understood her way of coping—the jokes and all that. He’d been doing it for years now, more of a response towards assholes who decided he was the fresh meat for the day. God, he wished Travis was an herbivore or maybe vegan was a better term. This wasn’t the Jurassic period. Not anymore. 

His dad was watching TV when he entered, Gizmo lounging on his lap. The remote was teetering on the edge of the cushion next to them. 

“Hey, bud. How was school?” 

Sal shrugged. “The usual. More study guides to guide us with studies.”

He chuckled at the dad joke solely meant for him. “It’ll be over before you know it. You’ll do great, too. Definitely got your mom’s smarts, that’s for sure.”

“Thanks dad,” he said, a soft grin hidden as he walked passed to his room. 

“Don’t you wanna watch something else Gizmo? I can’t stand these Hallmark specials.”

A low “murr” was growled in reply as Sal shut his door, slinging his school bag onto his unmade bed. Plopping next to it soon after, he closed his eyes for a moment, letting his brain rest and go blank. 

...He doubted she’d be coming over anytime soon, but maybe he should tell his dad. What about snacks? Should he make some—

This wasn’t resting. His brain knew that. _He_ knew that. If turning it off was a pinch then he wouldn’t be up so late some nights, fighting to fall asleep. Wouldn’t be battling nightmares of red eyes and green meadows trailing into streaks of blood. 

Shivering, he pushed himself into a sitting position and pressed his back against the wall his bed sat up against. Kicking off his shoes, he unzipped his bag and dug through it for his English binder. Better to do some editing on his paper now then later. 

As he debated what was too few and what was too many when it came to commas, his mind began to drift again. He hated to think the worst of the new tenants, but the argument had been so loud and unforgiving. He was surprised his dad hadn’t commented it, though, Gizmo did like to keep the television on the highest volume possible. 

Would it be too much to ask her about her family life? He’d almost tried to this morning, but after spotting the absence and thinking it over all day, he was glad Larry had come when he did. It was best not to point out who was missing in someone’s life, even if it might not be because of bad circumstances. Though, the way she acted and held herself firm around everyone, he was sure there could only be one possible explanation. 

A drawn out breath blew through his nostrils as he craned his head back. It lightly bonked against the wall and he closed his eyes again, wondering, wondering…

A staticky beep jerked him awake, nearly sending his papers scattering through the air as he moved them off his lap to turn over and scramble for the walkie-talkie. 

_“Larry Face to Sally Face. Got an urgent question from Ashley.”_

“Dude, you scared the shit out of me,” he sighed, sliding a hand under his mask to rub his one good eye. 

_“My bad. Ashley wanted to know if our new girl’s got a cell. Wants to text and crap.”_

“ _We_ don’t even have phones yet.”

 _“Yeah, us._ She _might have one, though.”_

“How come she didn’t ask at school?”

_“Dunno but pass the message along, yeah? Ashley’s stoked to have another girl around that she can vibe with.”_

He hummed, promising he’d ask later. He didn’t think she had a cell but he could never be sure without asking. Now that he thought about it, he should talk to his dad about getting one. It would be nice to be able to talk to everyone like he did with Larry, just through his fingers. It was cool to think about. 

A knock reverberated through his room, sending another fight or flight response through his body. Naps seemed to do wonders for his startle reflexes. 

“Hey, Sal, what sounds good for dinner?” his dad called through. 

Dinner? What time was it? He leaned forward to check the clock on his bedside table and went wide eyed. Since when had two hours gone by? Did he seriously doze off for that long?

“Uh, whatever’s fine!” he said, panic rising when a thought occurred to him. “Hey, uh, no ones come by right?”

The door creaked open as his dad peered in. A faint jingle of a collar alerted him that Gizmo had slipped through. 

“No, I don’t think so. Should I be expecting someone?”

“I met the new tenants’ daughter today. I was gonna help her with her school work later,” he said quickly. 

“Oh, I see.” 

Sal frowned at the look he was receiving. 

“Dad.” It came out flat, toneless. 

“Is she pretty?”

“Dad!”

“Alright, alright,” he chuckled, backing out of his personal space both in conversation and in reality as he shut the door to his room. 

Gizmo jumped up onto his bed, purring as he climbed straight over his lap and plopped right onto his papers. Sal didn’t mind so long as he didn’t claw at them. If the old “dog ate my homework” excuse didn’t work nowadays then a cat was a no-go. 

“We might have someone coming over soon so be on your best manners, Gizmo,” he said, running a hand down his scruffy back. 

A drawn out purr promised only good things. Then, his ears flickered and his head rose in one quick motion. A knock came shortly after. Oh shit, she was here. 

“I got it!” Sal yelled, jumping off his bed. He paused, glancing at his mildly dirty room in horror. Whatever, they could study in the living room. 

His dad pretended to look busy rummaging around in the fridge as he answered the door. She gave him a tired grin as soon as their gazes net and he gawked at her toboggan and heavy duty jacket. 

“Uh, did you just get back from somewhere?”

“Actually, I was gonna ask if you wanted to go on an adventure to the supermarket real quick. My parents need some groceries.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, they’re holding my ability to hang out hostage,” she scoffed, scuffing at the carpet with her boots. 

“Oh,” he said, sadder. 

“You don’t have to go.”

“No, I’m—let me ask my dad real—”

“You can go!” his dad said, shutting the fridge when he looked over. “We’re out of anything good, so pick something out for us, too. Let me grab some cash.”

“Okay.” He turned to her. “Wanna come in? I need to grab a jacket.”

“And earmuffs!”

He sighed, shaking his head at his dad. “And earmuffs,” he parroted. 

She snickered, walking in as he held the door open for her. Glancing around, a hum came as she plopped down on their couch. 

“Cozy,” she commented. 

He laughed. “That’s a lie.”

“It’s the atmosphere not the interior design, _gosh_.” She rolled her eyes playfully and gasped as Gizmo was spotted trotting out of Sal’s room. 

“My promised cat, Gizmo! Nice to meet you,” she called. He “mow”ed and pattered over, snuffing at her outstretched hand before rubbing against her. “Oh, you’re so sweet. I’m gonna keep you.”

Sal smirked under his mask as she babied him, lifting the tabby into her embrace. He enjoyed the attention, not used to a feminine touch having lived with two males for all of his life. 

Sal huffed. That made two of them. 

Wait, no. That sounded… yeah, no, never mind. Switch thought topics. Jacket and earmuffs. Jacket and earmuffs. 

“Be right back,” he murmured. 

“Take your time,” she sang, invested in running her hands through Gizmo’s fur. 

He would. His face needed to cool off. 


	3. orange ink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i decided to add in a few [name]s here and there because it got confusing with the shes. hopefully it doesn't annoy too many of you as i know it can interrupt the flow at times. anyway, happy new year!
> 
> p.s. i’d love to hear from you on my tumblr! feel free to ask questions about the fic (as I have a lot planned for it). Link below! 
> 
> https://meliapis.tumblr.com/

“Thanks for coming with me.”

“No problem. It’s not that far of a walk and I needed to stretch my legs anyway,” Sal excused, swiping at a few strands of hair that kept blowing into his eye. The texture of his mittens threatened to create static. All his hair would end up migrating towards his mask if he kept pawing at it (he’d learned that after Larry had rubbed a balloon all over him at Chug’s birthday party last year. Joke was on him, though, he kept shocking him afterwards).

“What’re you gonna get for dinner?”

He thought about it for a moment, adding up the cash his dad had given him and juggling a few ideas of what he could purchase with the amount. [Name] didn’t have to think it over. He had seen the list in the elevator. Hopefully, they’d both be able to carry all those bags back without much trouble. 

“Dad’s not picky so just something cheap. Preferably microwavable,” he finally said, falling back on something familiar. Premade dinners were simple and he didn't have to worry about a smoke alarm going off every five minutes. His dad was great at a lot of things but cooking wasn’t one of them.

“God, I  _ wish _ ,” she groaned. “That’s so much easier.”

“At least you get a good home cooked meal.”

“Yeah, but my mom’s so health-oriented I never get to chow down on junk food. Luckily, my dad’s a smuggler of sorts so we sneak stuff in.”

“His name Han by any chance?” he joked, looking both ways before starting across the icy street. He snorted as she slid over a hard patch, nearly losing her balance as she jumped up onto the curb.

“Nah, he’s not that cool. Solo would be an awesome last name, though.”

The inside of the supermarket was warm until they’re winding through the rows of vegetables and fruits where the refrigeration kicked in. [Name] swung the plastic basket she’d procured from up front, nearly knocking over a pyramid of apples at one point. Sal enjoyed her commentary on the food, apparently she had some strong opinions when it came to tomatoes.

“It makes no sense that they’re technically berries. Berries aren’t supposed to exceed the size of a fingertip.”

“Strawberries are bigger than a fingertip.”

“There are a few exceptions but  _ none  _ of them are as big as a tomato.”

He hummed. “You know, I think bananas count as berries, too.”

“Can nothing in this world be consistent?” She blew out a harsh breath, handling multiple tomatoes before deciding on a few worthy enough for whatever her mother was making. “Guess life would be boring if everything was.”

“Aside from your views on abnormally sized berries,” he said, ripping some plastic bags from the roller next to them for her food, “do you like the apartments so far?”

She raised an eyebrow at him over her shoulder. “You want the truth?” He shrugged, having been put on the spot. “It’s a creepy building. Something doesn’t feel right, especially about the guy who speaks through his mail slot.”

“Mr. Addison? He’s not so bad,” Sal promised. “He’s just particular about his privacy.”

“What if he’s weird about it because he has something horrible to hide?” She shivered at the thought before she turned to Sal who was holding the bag open for her tomatoes. The sight of how tightly he was gripping the rim made her peek a glance at his eyes. He wasn’t looking at her anymore.

“Everyone has their secrets,” he said, softly. “I like my privacy, too. It’s just different.”

“Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean--”

He shook his head. “No, I get it. The building has always felt weird to me, too. But it’s still home.”

“As long as it’s not haunted or filled with blood thirsty murderers, I’m good.”

She didn’t like the look he gave her as he tied the bags secure and set them in her basket. 

“What’s next on your list?”

“Sal?”

“Yeah?”

“Is our apartment building haunted?”

“I mean, if people die places, then those places could always be haunted,” he said matter-of-factly, dodging her pointed stare as he perused the varieties of ready-made salad.

“Someone died?!” He hushed her and she gaped at him like the world was about to end. “Are you playing a prank on me right now? Because it’s not funny!”

“Look, we can talk about it later. The store isn’t the best place to talk about this,” he told her, moving on to the next isle.

“Tell me the truth,” she whispered harshly, keeping pace with him. “Are you being serious?”

He turned his head away as he sighed, hands retreating deep into his jacket’s pockets. Afraid of someone listening in he just chose to nod, and at the nervous look on her face, he felt a pang of guilt cut through his chest.

“I’ll tell you about it later, I promise. Larry and I were going to tell you eventually, we just didn’t want to scare you off. You haven't even been here a week yet.”

She blinked, looking down at her basket in silence. He fidgeted in his spot, hands clenching and unclenching in his pockets. The cool material of some change against his skin made a light bulb go off in his head. He fumbled around before holding a penny out towards her. She gave him a confused expression. 

"Penny for your thoughts?"

That got him a weak snort. 

“It's just..." She worried at the inside of her cheek. "My parents did so much digging on this place to make sure it wasn’t sketchy. They never found anything bad.”

Yeah, Todd had done his own digging back when the Gear Boy had been built. So many things had been covered up and tossed to the side as if they weren't worth a second glance. This town had secrets and it had been obvious since then that he and his friends couldn’t trust anyone but themselves when it came to the supernatural occurrences. That included the blanks they left behind in the puzzle they had yet to piece together. Whatever it was he knew the red-eyed demon was at the center of it all.  


The shopping trip was finished in record time and it wasn’t until they were out in the cold again that she tried to get more info out of him. He explained everything to the best of his ability, about how Mrs. Sanderson had been brutally murdered in her own home just before he and his dad had moved in, all the way up to Megan--the sweet little ghost girl who haunted the bathroom above him. The entire time, she listened quietly, nodding here and there until finally they were outside their shared building. 

Snow had begun to fall again, starting to fill in their footprints and hide the evidence they ever set foot outside in the first place.

“This is fucking insane…” [Name] breathed, staring up at the apartments with a new perspective. He watched the white cloud she produced dissipate into thin air. 

“Sorry you had to find out like this.”

“Rather hear it from you then turn around to find a red-eyed demon staring me down,” she chuckled before panic filled her eyes. “You did kill it, right? It’s gone?”

“We think so. I haven’t seen it since Larry used that weapon Todd made.”

“Good, cause I’m not looking to get possessed my second night here.”

“Don’t worry you have a bona fide ghost hunter at your beck and call.” Which reminded him, “Do you have a phone? Ashley wanted to know so she could text you or something.”

“I _did_ ,” she said, shoulders pulling closer together as she glanced away. He could see her arms straining from the amount of bags weighing them down. “Sort of...broke it just before we moved here.”

“That sucks.”

“Tell me about it.”

On the way back to their floor, he noticed her wary gaze on Mr. Addison’s door and how tense she was on the ride up. He wished he hadn’t told her about the heavy stuff so soon. She’d  _ just  _ moved in and every bump in the night was bound to put her on edge now that he told her ghost stories weren’t myths in Nockfell.

“There’s not a ghost in my apartment, right?” she asked.

“Nah, Larry and I checked it the day after we got the Gear Boy working. The only places we haven’t been able to check have the crotchety tenants living in them,” he assured her and that seemed to help.

Before he could protest she swiped her remaining bags from his hands. “I’ll go drop these groceries off. Is your invitation still open?” 

“Yeah, but don’t you want to eat dinner?”

“It’ll be awhile before it’s finished. Thirty at the least.”

He nodded and they parted ways. In her absence, he put away his microwave dinner to save for later while his dad warmed his up before retreating to his room. Sal didn’t have to ask to know he was giving him his space after telling him [Name] was coming back over for a bit.

After quickly cleaning up his room (which just meant shoving everything in his closet or under his bed), he lounged with Gizmo on the couch, flipping through the channels looking for something entertaining to watch. There wasn’t anything good on but it didn’t matter when another knock resounded through the room.

“It’s open,” he called, shifting in his spot to watch the door. She let herself in, stripped of all her winter clothes and instead in an ABBA t-shirt with some sweats. That was what cozy looked like, he thought,  _ not  _ his minimalist living room. 

“Could I see the ghost tool thingy?” she asked quietly after a quick glance around the room, most likely for his dad. 

“It’s just a Gear Boy.”

“How do you turn a video game player into a ghost hunting device?” she scoffed, thoroughly amused as he waved at her to follow him. 

“It's mostly a cartridge, but that’s a question better suited for Todd.”

“He’s probably gonna grow up to be some ultra genius or something.”

“Oh, without a doubt,” he agreed.

His book bag was where he had left it on his bed. The Gear Boy was buried under a few binders but he found it without much trouble, holding it up for her to see.

“Does it still work for games and stuff?” she asked as he went to give it to her.

“Yeah, would’ve been bored without it otherwise. Here,” he pointed to the on button. “If you hold that down it’ll--”

She’d followed his instructions expecting the start up screen but as soon as it flickered to life the thing went haywire. Her eyes went wide as a look of horror fell over her face. “Shit, I broke it!”

“No, it’s been acting up recently,” he told her over the buzzing, taking it when she hurriedly offered it back. Weirdly enough, as soon as she let go of it, the noise quit and he was met with the screen he was used to seeing when there weren’t any ghosts around. 

“I didn’t break it right?” she questioned, hovering over it. He shook his head, pigtails swishing. One managed to hit her mouth, sending her into a sputtering fit. An apology left him in a hurry but she just laughed it off.

Studying the device in his hands he forgo-ed the ghost detector cartridge and switched it for something more entertaining and less glitchy. 

“Oh!” Her eyes lit up as the music began to play. “I remember that game! God, it’s been ages since I played it.”

“Did you ever beat it?” he asked, passing it to her. She grinned, hopping onto his bed as she began to button smash. He mirrored her joyful look at the enthusiasm she presented and began to gather his school stuff up.

“Got super close. I was on the last level but my--” she went quiet and he paused, looking at her as she stared somewhere passed the screen. “Uh, well, someone beat me to it. Spoiled the ending for me so I didn’t really have a reason to try and beat it anymore.”

“That sucks,” he commented.

“That’s life,” she chuckled but there wasn’t any amusement in it. “Do you think you’ll be able to fix the cartridge or whatever's broken?”

“Hope so. I forgot to ask Todd about it today. I’ll ask him about it during lunch tomorrow.”

“Guess you’ll have to resort to the old ways, like Ouija boards and shit.”

He laughed. “We should draw a circle of salt, just in case.”

“I’ll get the candles, you get the goat’s blood.”

“I’m kinda surprised you’re taking this so well,” Sal admitted. “Larry nearly shit his pants when I proved it to him.”

“Well, I’ve always kinda believed in ghosts. I mean, all that energy has to go somewhere, right?” She saved her game and shut down the Gear Boy before returning it to him. “I mean, it’s not  _ that  _ shocking.”

“Really?”

“Fuck no. I’m just good at redirecting my fear with piss-poor humor,” she confessed. 

A few seconds went by before they erupted into chortles. By then, any stress left over from the day had melted away and all that was left was an air of warmth. They switched to more normal topics and he showed her his notes on a few study guides. He was surprised when she asked to read his paper and within five minutes she had helped him improve his introduction, fixed some errors here and there, as well as proved that she wouldn’t be needing any tutoring when it came to English.

“Watch out or Larry will have you writing his papers for him,” Sal joked and she nudged him, sending more than a jolt through his body. He idly wondered what the thermostat was set to. The room seemed hotter than usual.

“Is this the list of topics?” she asked, holding up a paper. 

He blinked and nodded. “Y-yeah, that’s it. See one you like?”

“Maybe. I’m avoiding anything political-related. I don’t have enough energy for that.”

A knock sounded for the third time that night, urging Sal to look towards the wall that separated them from the living room. He didn’t know who it could be. Larry would’ve called on the walkie-talkie and his other friends didn’t come over all that much unless they planned it beforehand. 

“I’ve got it!” his dad hollered, his footsteps passing by Sal’s room. He kept an ear out as muffled voices bled through the walls. He made out the words “must be" and "tenant” and glanced towards [Name].

“I think it’s your…” He went silent at the look on her face. One minute ago she’d been smiling but now it was like that had never existed. She looked so wilted, finger flicking at the corner of his paper.

“Yeah, it’s my dad, I think,” she murmured, taking a deep breath. “You know I think you’ll ace this paper.”

“Yeah, with all your help,” he pointed out and she hummed, passing the parchment to him. He took it from her gingerly, focus shifting to her feet as they swung back and forth. The movement jostled his bed frame just a smidge. 

“Thanks for inviting me over. Might steal Gizmo when you’re not looking,” she teased.

He feigned a gasp. “But sir, that's my emotional support animal!”

“Oh, shit,” she snorted, covering her face with her hands as she laughed. “There goes my chance at becoming a cat burglar.”

They both looked towards his bedroom door as their names were called.  


“I’ll meet you at the elevator tomorrow. We can walk to the bus stop together,” he said and she nodded.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

He followed her to the front door, passing by Gizmo on the couch who rose to his feet at her approach. She cupped his face, giving his a good scratch behind the ears as she whispered goodbye. 

“Hey, dad. Dinner ready?” she greeted as they approached the door. Sal thought the man resembled her a good bit, something about the eyes.

“Yep. Mom’s setting the table,” he said. The look of surprise when he noticed Sal wasn’t lost on him. He was used to those types of reactions. They didn't sting as much as they used to.  


“This is Sal,” [Name] introduced, an edge to her voice. It seemed to snap her father out of it as he forced a grin.

“Right. Nice to meet you, both of you,” he said to him and his dad. “Thanks for looking after my daughter. She’s not much of a people pleaser.”

“Dad!” she growled, pushing at his chest. “God, I can’t take you anywhere.”

He laughed, ruffling her head as he turned, allowing her to push him down the hall. “Nice meeting you guys!”

“Have a good night,” Mr. Fisher called, waving.

“See you tomorrow,” Sal said. She threw him a wink as the door shut on the two of them stumbling down the hall. A bout of laughter was heard and it eased the growing worry in his chest a bit. He hoped everything was okay at home and that she smiled as much as she did here. Hoped she was happy. 

If things were bad, he liked to think she’d talk to someone. Maybe it could be him if she came to trust him enough. He’d always lend an ear where someone needed it, up to the point that his friends deemed him the “listener” of the group. 

_“Dude, you should be a therapist or something,”_ _Larry encouraged, doodling on some graded homework that Sal had gotten back that afternoon_. _“You’d be hella good at it.”_

_ “I don’t think anyone would want to open up to someone wearing a prosthetic mask.” _

_ “Well, I do, don’t I?” _

_ “True,” Sal replied, pointing at him. “I should start charging you. Twenty bucks an hour.” _

_ “Shit!” Larry laughed his ass off. “Do you take tears?” _

Sall rolled his eye at the memory and went straight to the kitchen. His stomach was growling and there was still a microwavable meal to eat.

A few doors down, [Name] was getting ready to eat, too, watching herself in the upside-down reflection in a spoon. Sticking a tongue out earned her a warning from her mother, but she noticed her dad smiling to himself and felt a bit better than usual. He was getting better. 

The two of them began to load up their plates while her mom grabbed a bottle of wine sitting on the counter. Of course she had _that_ left over but no groceries. Luckily, she'd had packed some breakfast items in the cooler on the drive over. It made her first day have an alright start even if she didn't like eating early in the morning. Tended to make her queasy if she was in a rush.  


“Did you have a good first day at school?” her mom asked, taking a seat and pouring a glass. 

“Yeah. Made some friends.”

“That was fast,” her dad teased, earning a soft kick from her under the table. He lost the amusement when his wife sent a glare his way. He cleared his throat. “That’s great, sweetie. We should have them over once we unpack.”

“Could I study with them on Wednesdays and Sundays? Finals are coming up,” she asked, poking at her food. 

Her mom hummed. “Where? The library?”

“No, Larry’s. He lives in the basement with his mom. She’s the janitor for the apartments.”

“The  _ basement _ ?”

“Mom, c’mon,” she grumbled. "I need the extra help."  


“Alright. As long as you're studying and not goofing off. You’ve missed enough school.”

“Okay.” She took a small bite of her dinner, chewing thoughtfully. Could use some more salt. She took another bite. Correction, could use _heaps_ more of salt, like, a pound's worth. God, why was it so bland?  


There was a small moment of silence before her mother started up another topic, questioning her father about picking her up a few minutes ago. 

“Did you talk to the neighbors?”  


“Yeah, they’re nice people. Though, our daughter failed to mention the kid wore a mask. Wasn’t prepared for it.”

“A mask? What for?”

“It’s a prosthetic. Don’t you remember Sally Fisher? He went to my old school,” she cut in, not liking their tone.

“Oh, the Fishers? That was such a tragedy,” her mom sighed, shaking her head. “Must be bad if he wears a mask.” Her nose wrinkled as if she smelled something foul. “Wasn’t that also the boy who wore the pigtails?”

[Name] eyes squinted as she turned a sharp glare towards the woman. “Yeah,  _ so _ ?”

“Just a bit odd, is all.”

“Mom,” she growled.

“Honey, you know it’s more a feminine hairdo. It’s just a little weird, that’s all I’m saying.”

“So what? It’s his  _ hair _ mom! He can do whatever he wants with it!”

“Don’t raise your voice at me,” she warned, uncurling a finger from around her glass to point at her. 

[Name] held their staring contest, the light overhead buzzing loudly as her hands curled into fists beneath the table. She huffed and there was a flicker as her tongue rolled against the inside of her cheek. She smiled ruefully down at her plate. Honestly, she shouldn't expect anything less from her mom. She hated anything unique.  


“I’m not hungry anymore."

“What? I just spent an hour--”

“Honey, she’s tired,” her father stepped in. “Let her go to sleep.”

“You’re wasting good food! People are starving all around the world, you hear me?” 

She didn’t listen, slamming the bedroom door behind her without a care and locking it for good measure. She heard the shout of her name but her father interrupted again and then there was that  _ yelling  _ she was used to.

“Home sweet home,” she scoffed, throwing herself onto her bed.

Just when she thought it’d be a nice night in. Her father had actually  _ smiled  _ today and they’d joked around like they used to. He’d messed with her hair like she hated. 

It was her mother that ruined the little things. It was her started the majority of the arguments, her who raised her voice when it wasn’t going to get them anywhere. Hypocrite. Such a hypocrite. 

_ Don’t think about it _ , she told herself, burying her face deeper into her pillow. It was best just to put on her headphones and try to sleep. It would come.

Eventually. 

It was early when she opened her eyes. Too early to be awake when she eyed her alarm clock. There was more than enough time to get ready for school and she saw nothing better to do as sleep would elude her now that she was aware of her existence. A shower would be nice, hopefully the bathroom stuff had been unpacked. 

Walking out into the cool apartment with her chosen clothes for the day, she noticed a figure on the couch. The sight of her father curled in that pitiful excuse of furniture made her chest ache. He didn’t deserve this abuse. She was sure he'd just been trying to defend her, probably used the same excuse as always. He wasn't wrong to use it, but there was a time limit for selfish people who thought grief was a phase and not something that would sneak up on you for the rest of your life. She knew there would never go a day that the death in her life wouldn't affect her. Reminders were everywhere and the pain had yet to fade, but it was getting better. She was getting better with the permanent separation, slowly but surely.  


The shower helped fight off the chill that had seeped into the apartment for a bit as she scrubbed the last few days from her skin. Maybe she wouldn’t look like shit today. Man, what a thought. She could even put on makeup if she wanted (she didn't).  


She did her best to towel dry her hair and breezed through the rest of the morning routine. After getting dressed and stuffing her feet into her go-to boots, she rounded up her school stuff. It was a tough decision, but she left her skateboard behind as it was probably icier than yesterday with how cold the place was. It wasn’t like there were many places to use it anyway. 

Shrugging on her backpack, she tiptoed out of her room and into the kitchen to prepare her lunch (because fuck school food). To her surprise, when she opened the fridge her lunch bag sat there. The handwriting on the sticky note gave away just who was behind this and she sniffed, smiling over at his sleeping form.  Slipping what was probably just a bunch of junk food and a PBJ into her bag, she pulled out a pen and wrote on the back of the sticky note. One small thanks and a stupid drawn face later, she was pasting it carefully onto his forehead and sneaking out of the apartment in record time. The spare key jingled on her key chain as she locked the door back and made her way towards Sal’s apartment. 

She doubted he was awake at this hour, so she sat next to his front door and worked on the study guides in silence. 

Time passed. She wasn’t sure how much as she didn’t own a watch, but she knew it was getting close to bus stop time when she felt footsteps quake the floor. She turned her head as the door clicked open and smiled as Sal stepped out, locking his door behind him just the same as her. Good to know they both were scared of a robbery taking place or someone going through their shit and finding their deepest, darkest secrets.  


As he was pocketing the key he turned and jumped at the sight of her sitting below him. She threw her head back so hard it hit the wall behind her but she didn’t care. She was laughing too hard to notice. 

“Holy shit, how long have you been out here?” he asked, laying a hand on his chest. It sounded like she'd knocked the wind out of him. 

“Not sure. Got a lot of work done, though.” She held up her stack of papers with a triumphant grin and he nodded. 

“Nice. I finished my paper last night thanks to you.”

“What can I say? I ooze productivity,” she sighed, flickering her hair over her shoulder. They both shared an amused gaze before she shoved her stuff into her bag, getting to her feet with a grunt. 

“No board?”

“Nah. The ride’s short to the bus stop so it’s no fun anyway.”

“Bummer. Maybe there’s a skate park in the next town over or something,” he said as they made their way to the elevator. 

“God, I hope so. I’ll go crazy if I can’t skate.”

He nodded in understanding before pulling out a walkie-talkie. She smiled at it and he saw her curious glance.

He offered the device. “You wanna wake Larry?”  


“Fuck yeah I do, hand it over!” She grinned maliciously, turning it over the check the buttons before pressing the correct one. Sal nearly had a heart attack for the second time that morning as she yelled into the damn thing. 

“RED ALERT! RED ALERT! WE’VE GOT A 10-60 ON LEVEL 6!”

_ “What the shit! Who the hell is this?” _

Sal lost it and she hit his arm repeatedly trying to get him to shut up. “Your worst fucking nightmare. I’ve captured Sally Face but I’m willing to trade. Gimme your kneecaps.”

_ “Oh shit, that you, [Name]? You trying to kill me?” _

“We all gotta go someday, sport. You just sooner than later. Hand ‘em over.”

All three of them cackled over the line before she sighed. “Sorry I couldn’t resist. You awake now?”

_ “Fuck. I don’t think I’ll ever sleep again if this is the wake-up call I get every morning,” _ he breathed. 

Sally flexed his hand for the walkie to which she gladly forfeited over. She’d gotten her dose of shenanigans for the day. 

“Guess you’ll never know who’s gonna be on the other side now,” he said to him. 

_ “You, my friends, are some very mean dudes. See you in a few.” _

“See ya,” they both chirped into the mic. 

“That was epic,” Sal said and she shrugged, tugging at her bag’s straps. 

“I try.”

“What even is a 10-60?”

“Fuck if I know. We don’t even have a level 6,” she chuckled, pointing towards the floor buttons. Giggles echoed in the small space, mixed with a ding before the doors rumbled open.  She stepped out with a long stretch as he moved on ahead of her, eyeing Mr. Addison’s door. He didn’t seem to be looking out today. 

“Thank God,” he heard her mumble behind him. 

He looked over his shoulder. “What?”

“Yesterday, he was waiting up for me,” she whispered as they passed. “He said the weirdest shit to me.”

“What’s he say?”

“He told me, “you two have a nice day!” The hell he mean  _ two _ ? I was the only one in the hall!” Her hands went wild as she spoke, rattling around her head like rage-filled maracas. 

“That is pretty weird, but maybe he meant me? I left ahead of you.”

“I hope so. Makes me think something’s following me.” She shuddered, crossing her arms as they stepped outside. The sheer force of the wind nearly bowled them over when they opened the door, sending every hair on their heads back as teeth chattered and shoulders drew closer to protect any warmth left in their bodies. 

“It’s a lot colder than yesterday,” Sal commented, feet crunching through a new layer of snow. She fought to follow in his footsteps, instantly noticing the difference in the length of their strides. Sal caught her trying to stay up right as she stole one step after another his and smiled, proceeding down the hill and towards the shoveled sidewalk. 

“Tell me about it. My hair’s gonna turn to ice sickles since it’s not dry yet.”

“I hope you don’t get sick.”

“Please, I’m not _that_ weak.” A grunt quickly followed that statement as well as a shift of snow. She glared somewhere passed him as he offered her a hand out of the snow ditch she’d fallen over into. 

“Now your butt’s gonna freeze.”

“Ugh, I’m gonna look like I pissed myself,” she groaned, reaching up for his offered hand. 

“I have a flannel under my jacket. You can tie it around your waist.”

Her smile as she thanked him had his heart skipping a beat, especially since she chose that exact moment to take his hand. He was glad he had a glove to hide the perspiration on his palm as he pulled her up. 

They continued their walk to the bus stop as he unzipped, shrugging out of his thick coverage with some difficulty due to his backpack. She held it for him as he peeled back his first layer, then his black and grey flannel soon after revealing a black t-shirt with the letters SF on the front.

“Oh,” she cooed, “you didn’t tell me you had your own merch.”

“What?” he laughed as they traded clothes. He glanced down as she gestured to his chest and he “oh”ed in realization, sticking his arms back into the safety of long sleeves. “It’s Sanity’s Fall. A band me and Larry listen to.”

“Rock or metal?” 

“Metal,” he answered, eyeing her waist as she tied the sleeves of his shirt into a double knot. “You really pull off that look.  _ Looney Tunes _ one day, punk the next.”

She winked and he flushed beneath the prosthetic. She seemed to like doing that a lot.

“I'm a model in the making.”

“Heh,” he huffed, scratching at the back of his head. “I’m sure you’d be good at it, but I feel like you’d be good at anything. You have that ‘jack of all trades' vibe.”

“You’re just full of compliments today, aren’t you?” she laughed, patting his shoulder as she jogged by him. His eyes went wide as she made a rub for the stop sign and leapt for the hexagon, slamming her palm against the bold font. The loud CLANG rattled down the street and his body went rigid when she nearly lost her footing on the slippery ground. 

“Are you _trying_ to eat snow again?” he asked, mirth in his voice as she leaned against the pole like the almost accident never happened. 

“As long as it’s not yellow,” she hummed and he just shook his head at her in awe. This girl was a lunatic but in the best way possible. 

“What the fuck was that sound just now?” Larry yelled, a bit of a ways behind them. 

“I high-fived the stop sign!” she shouted back, hands curving around her mouth to extend the distance. With her volume it wasn’t needed. 

“Raad, dudette!”

She raised both her hands in the air in a silent cheer and he joined her in her achievement. Sal thought they looked like those ancient paintings on cave walls. The ones where they gathered around a campfire chanting nonsense. 

He turned his head as she faced him, arms still up in the air. 

“I have a question,” she said. 

“Ask away,” he fostered. 

“Chug and Todd life here right? How come they don’t take the bus?”

“Their parents drop them off at school.”

She frowned, muttering under breath. “Lucky little shits."

“What? You don’t like riding with us?” Larry poked fun, high-fiving her since her hands were still up. The action seemed to snap her out of it, as she dropped her limbs straight after. 

“The bus doesn’t have air conditioning and it smells gross.”

“She’s right. The bus sucks,” Sal agrred. Don’t get him wrong, he loved their customized seats but the winters and summers were total hell on the bus. 

“Hey, one of these days someone will get a car, then we’ll have a better ride,” assured Larry. The sound of the old vehicle nearing reached their ears. 

Sal rubbed his hands together, shifting back and forth in his spot to fend off the cold. “My bet’s on Todd.”

“Why Todd?” she asked, hoping he wasn’t too cold after losing a layer. She winced as the bus came to a screeching halt next to them, her ears ringing. This thing was bound to break down at some point soon. 

“His parents always give him really cool stuff. He’s got a pufferfish, you know?” 

“Whoa. Where the hell do you get a pufferfish?”

“Dunno. But his name’s Bob.”

“Man, I  _ gotta _ meet Bob one of these days.”

He huffed a cloud, following her onto the bus with Larry taking up the caboose. “You just want to meet everyone’s pets.”

“I want what I lack, can you blame me?” 

“Tell me about it. I’ve asked my mom for a dog since I was a kid but it’s always been a hard no.”

“We’re still kids, you know,” Sal chucked. 

“Sometimes it’s hard to tell.”

[Name] sucked a breath through her teeth, squinting at Larry wearily. “Damn. I mean,  _ same _ but still, damn.”

“You don’t gotta say it, I already know. I’m poetic as hell.”

“You should see his paintings. They’re awesome,” Sal said, letting Larry take the window seat as per usual. She took up the entire seat across from them like yesterday and he had a feeling she’d be doing it for the rest of her time here. "They're super symbolic."  


“You paint? That’s cool.” She grinned and Larry laughed, partly embarrassed. 

“Yeah, it’s my passion. Ashley taught me everything I know, though.”

“So we’ve got a painter, a tech genius, and a ghost hunter? What a passion-filled trio.”

“Wait, what?”

“Oh,” Sal muttered, looking at Larry, “I told her about the ghosts.”

“Dude, really? I thought we agreed to tell her in like a week or something!”

“Well, she asked.” He shrugged. “I wasn’t about to lie to her.”

“He made it super obvious,” she said with a playful roll of her eyes. 

“You guessed everything that happened here, it just surprised me!” he told her, a bit defensive. 

“I was just joking around. How was I supposed to know someone was actually murdered here?”

Larry gawked at the two of them. “Oh, you told her about _that_ , too?”

“Yeah, we had to go to the store last night so the walk back was enough time to tell her everything,” he explained, knocking into his side as the bus ran over a bump. 

“Man, y’all were busy after I left,” he chuckled. 

“She helped me finish my paper, too.”

“What?” Larry leaned around his friend to face her, eyes big and pleading. “Dudette, you gotta help me with mine; I’m shit at English!” 

The look Sal was giving her had her pursing her lips to keep from laughing. He was practically screaming “I told you so.”

“Sure,” she said. 

“Awesome,” he sighed, relaxing back into his seat.

Sal and her shared another look before she snuggled into her seat, the grin on her lips fading as she relaxed into a light sleep. 

“Is that your flannel?” Larry whispered as the bus slowed to a stop for the next few students. 

“Yeah. She fell in the snow.” He was reminded of his dad when Larry bounced his eyebrows at him. “Dude, stop.”

“Sally Face’s got game,” he murmured, snickering when an elbow came up to jab him in the ribs. 

“It called being _nice_ , jackass.”

“This mean you over Ashley?”

The glare he sent him sent the greasy teen into a fit of giggles. 


	4. brown ink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEED YOUR HELP!  
> I wanted your guys opinions on using [name] or the reader's new nickname mentioned in the new chapter bugs! the link below is a poll that lets you tell me which word you'd rather me use. [name] or bugs or use them both whenever i feel like it? vote now!
> 
> poll: https://linkto.run/p/IRHVFQ3B
> 
> comments are always appreciated here, too. thank you to everyone who already has. they really make my day, especially those who theorize (looking at you amai! love you for that).
> 
> hope you enjoy the new chapter!

It didn’t take long to fall in love with Ashley, platonically, that is (though she didn't know what the future held. I mean, sure, she always looked at guys but life could change in an instant so again, who knew). She was probably the most bad ass bitch she'd ever met while simultaneously being the sweetest angel to have ever walked the earth. Besides, Sal, that is. He was too good for this world.

“Bummer you don’t have a phone,” she sighed, halfheartedly shading a picture in her journal. Larry hadn’t been kidding when he said he’d learned everything from Ashley. It was clear the girl was talented. Also had a thing for making these cute little dolls that  _ could’ve  _ been voodoo-involved but hell if [Name] cared—she still wanted one. 

“Yeah, but I might get another one soon. My mom has to know where I am at all times or she flips her lid.”

Ash nodded, green eyes heavily focused on erasing a smudge from the sheet. “Yeah, my parents are kinda like that. At least you have  _ some  _ freedom. I’m always stuck babysitting my little brother.”

There was a tug at her heart, one she quickly willed away as the bell rang. It was time for lunch, the best part of school if you weren’t digesting its so called “food.”

“Did you guys see Robinson?” asked Larry, meeting up with two girls at the door. “I swear he was snoring for the first half of the class.”

“It’s not like we have much to do in here. Everyone already turned in their final projects,” Ash said, indifferent. Their new party member didn’t see the big deal about it either.

“Least he was nice enough to omit mine,” she sighed. “That’s one thing I don’t have to worry about it.”

“What would you have done? If you’d had to, I mean.” 

She glanced at the brunette, having to stop and think about it for a second. “Not sure. Maybe something photography-related. Or paper mache.”

“That sounds awesome,” Larry commented and she thanked him. 

“Maybe next semester. You guys taking art again?”

“Yeah, at second level. Think you can keep up?” Ash joked.

In response, she raised both hands and made some type of karate stance as she flexed her fingers at the star art student. “Bring it on.”

The trio laughed as they made their way into the cafeteria, her and Ash playing a mobile version of ninja which was stupid because the whole point was to not move but c'est la vie. They split off as Larry and Ash were buying their lunches and she’d made it abundantly clear she wouldn’t be eating a crumb from the school’s kitchen. So instead, she made her way to the designated table the group had all sat at the day before. Chug and Maple were already there, along with Sally who was picking at his food. She bumped his shoulder as she plopped down on the bench, grinning as he looked at her. 

“What’s up, doc?” she greeted and he chuckled. 

“Am I going to have to start calling you Bugs?” 

“You’re the one who stole his catchphrase first,” she pointed out. “Also, you have pigtails that could  _ totally _ be counted as bunny ears.”

“But you’re the one with his personality.”

“What?” she laughed. “In what way?”

“You’re both laid back, you’re both cunning—I mean you tricked Larry into thinking a straw has two holes. “

“It does and you know it!”

“It’s one long continuous hole and that is all I’m gonna say about it,” he stated. “Point is, you’re the type to say “screw it” on a daily basis and that’s Bugs Bunny energy.”

“I haven’t been present during the entire conversation but I have to agree. The character fits,” Todd said, appearing out of nowhere with a tray of disgusting school food. 

Sal waved a hand at the redhead. “See?”

“You two are ridiculous,” she said but she was smiling. Spotting Maple passing her lunch bag to Chug, she cursed under her breath and rose from her seat. 

Sal followed her movements with a keen gaze. “What?” 

“I left my food in my locker. Be back in a sec.”

Sal watched as she scurried towards the cafeteria doors, dodging students until she was slipping out into the hall. That was another thing to add to the list: she was hard to keep track of, just like the rabbit. 

“Hey, Todd,” he called, gaining the boy’s attention from across the table. “I forgot to ask yesterday, but I think something’s wrong with the Gear Boy. It’s been acting up recently. Could you take a look at it?”

The young genius hummed, pushing his sliding glasses back up the ridge of his nose. “Could you elaborate?”

“It goes off randomly when there aren’t any ghosts around. It went off on the bus the other day and in my room the night before. Larry thinks it’s a glitch.”

“Possibly,” Todd muttered, going quiet for a moment as Ash and Larry reached the table.

The former looked around, expression vaguely confused. “Where’s [Name]?”

Sal looked up at her as she had yet to sit down. “She forgot her lunch in her locker. She’ll be back soon.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll leave her a seat, then,” she said, taking the end of the bench and leaving the space on Sal’s left empty. Larry sat on his right while everyone else lied across from them. 

“Do you have the Gear Boy with you?” Todd asked. 

“Yeah, in my locker.”

“Let’s go get it. I can check it before lunch ends.”

"More ghost problems?" Ash teased, the skeptic of their rag tag group.

“What about your food?” Chug asked at the same time, mouth full. 

Sal answered Ash first. “No, just technical difficulties. You can have mine, Chug. I’m not that hungry today." The boy grinned as he passed him his tray, grateful for the extra serving. 

“Thanks, Sally Face.”

“Luckily, I had a fulfilling breakfast,” Todd stated, dumping his onto Chug’s as well before starting for the dish drop. Sal followed after him, hands swishing by his sides. After that it was off to his locker.  


They’d just walked out into the hallway when they spotted [Name] slamming hers. She waved at them as she stood, lunch bag in hand.

“You done already?”

“Todd’s going to look at the Gear Boy,” Sal said. 

“Ooh, can I watch? I’ll be quiet,” she promised, pressing both hands together in a pleading motion. Her lunchbox swished beneath her palms, handle hanging precariously between her thumb and forefinger. 

“Sure. Todd?” he questioned. 

The boy shrugged. “I see no reason why not.”

“Nice,” she cheered, unzipping her bag as she trailed behind them to Sal’s locker. 

While she munched away on her snacks and sandwich, he worked his lock with a paperclip and popped open the door, rummaging around before passing the ghost device to its creator. 

“Let’s go to the lab. I might need tools if something’s busted.”

Sal was surprised by the statement. “The lab’s unlocked?” 

“Yeah, come on.” He waved and his friends followed, one set on filling her empty stomach and the other worried about never being able to talk to the sweet ghost girl he’d befriended on the fifth floor again. Megan would be devastated if she knew. 

In the classroom, [Name] made herself comfortable on a countertop, swinging her legs as she finished up her noon meal. 

“What do you think’s wrong with it?” she asked. 

“It could be that the cartridge has been overused or something’s loose. Whatever it is I can probably fix it,” Todd assured, confident in his technical abilities. 

“When did it start malfunctioning?” he queried as he worked, unscrewing some things and meticulously scrutinizing others. 

“A day or two ago,” Sal shrugged. “It went off super late. Around 2 or 3. I think it was the same day Bugs moved in.”

“Ooh, the ghosting hour,” she sang. “Quick to label me Bugs, though. What if Larry and Ash don’t agree it fits?”

“Then I guess it’ll be my own personal nickname for you,” he decided and she rolled her eyes, wadding up some plastic wrap and tossing it towards the trash. She missed terribly, hopping down to go and fetch it with a groan. 

“Odd,” Todd said, gaining Sal’s attention. 

“What is it? Did you find something?” he asked, peering over his shoulder. 

Todd shook his head. “On the contrary, everything seems to be in working order.”

“What, seriously?”

To prove his point, Todd powered the Gear Boy on. The startup screen was the same as ever and there was no glitching or buzzing like before. 

“That’s weird,” Sal murmured, taking it from him and turning in every direction to see if it’d glitch out. 

“Is it working?” [Name] asked, walking up next to him. 

“I guess,” he sighed. He bit back a smile when she made grabby hands for it and handed it over.  The thing proceeded to go haywire like before. 

“Uh, I think you might wanna check it again,” she said with a chuckle.

Todd walked around Sal, eyes squinting behind his round glasses as he studied the device. He took it from her, resulting in dead silence. 

He and Sal shared a wide-eyed look before Todd held it up. 

“Would you mind holding this again?”

“What? Why?”

“I’d like to test something.”

Brow furrowed, her lips parted in question before the theory seemed to occur to her. Retreating a few steps back, she shook her head. 

“Oh  _ hell _ no.” She crossed her arms taking additional steps back for good measure. “Fuck that. If you’re about to say what I think you’re about to say—”

Sal tried to keep his voice level and monotone as to not make her even more nervous than she already was. “What if it doesn’t go off?”

Her eyes met his, tinged with fear. “What if it  _ does _ , Sally?”

He felt a thump in his chest and there was that guilt again, for scaring her and making her feel uncomfortable when it was only her second day here.

“We need to get to the bottom of these malfunctions,” Todd said, serious. “It could be that something on you is interfering with the electricity field the Gear Boy emits.”

“So you don’t think it’s a ghost?” she asked hopefully. 

“We can’t completely disregard that theory, especially since Sal said the device began acting up the day of your arrival.”

“I think I’m going to throw up,” she breathed, turning to place both hands on the counter. “Man, what a waste of good food.”

“What time did you get here again?” The question was as high pitched as it was apologetic coming from Sal. 

She growled his name again. “I swear to God—”

“Just think about it,” he begged. “Was anything weird happening around three in the morning the other day? Did you notice anything?”

She blew out a long breath. “Shit, I don’t know. My lamp acted up I guess?”

“Your lamp?” 

“Yeah, the wiring in our apartment must be faulty. The lights flicker every once in a while,” she explained, unperturbed. 

“Whatever it is, it seems to me you’re affecting electrical currents around you,” Todd observed, offering her the Gear Boy again. The screen blinked before lighting up and, slowly, it began to vibrate. 

“Stop, please,” she whispered, hands disappearing into her hair to cover her face. The device trembled. Todd noticed the alerts becoming potent the more upset she grew. 

Both of the boys stiffened when the lights above them flickered precariously. School with faulty wiring? Sure, it was possible, but it didn’t seem to be a coincidence right about now. 

“Listen, Bugs,” Sal called, carefully making his way towards her and urging Todd to give her some space, “you’re not alone. Weird shit happens here all the time, and we’ve always found our way around it and kept each other safe. Nothing’s gonna happen.”

“I’m scared,” she sniffed, still hiding her face. “I’m scared of what I’ll see if that thing really does work.”

“We don’t have to use it, okay?” He slowly took a step towards her, watching the lights above him go on off as he did. “Whatever it is, we’ll keep you safe.”

She looked at him, then. Eyes rimmed red from the tears in her eyes. 

“What if it’s something dangerous?” she asked, voice weak. “I swear, I’m not trying to be a baby about this but like—”

“Then, you have me, and Larry, and Todd who’s made a  _ weapon _ against ghosts. Literally everybody at the lunch table.”

“Well, Chug is questionable with his fear of the supernatural,” Todd commented. 

She chuckled, nodding before wiping at her eyes. The lights returned to normal and she noticed, body going rigid. “Did I…?”

“I think so,” Sal said. “Maybe you just have cool electrical powers, who knows?”

She glared at him something furious. “If it’s that I’m gonna zap you  _ so _ hard for scaring the shit out of me.” 

“Hey, c’mon, don’t electrocute me! I was just trying to help,” he laughed.

“Nope!” She shook her head. “It’s off to the electric chair with you, mister!” She waved, pointing at him with finality in her tone. “Decide your last meal, that’s all the mercy I will grant you.”

“Oof, harsh,” he muttered and she finally smiled.

Todd cleared his throat, holding up the Gear Boy which has gone silent again. The mirth faded between them as she took another deep breath and stepped forward, accepting the device. Just as all the other times it went off, glowing a vibrant green. 

“If it’s a ghost, you’ll need to press the R button to trigger the electromagnetic pulse,” Todd said. 

She trembled, shaking her head. “I can’t.”

“Then we won’t,” Sal stated, giving Todd a stern look, warning him not to stress her out any more than they already had. 

The genius responded with a blank expression and crossed arms, obviously in disagreement. 

“I’m not going to make her do something she doesn’t want to do. Whatever it is, it’s only been causing flickers and glitches, nothing serious.”

“If it’s a supernatural entity—”

“Then, there’s a good chance it’s harmless,” he said. “Every single ghost we’ve met in the building’s is.” 

“And the red-eyed demon?”

“Shit,” [Name] squeaked, fear creeping back up.

“I think you’d be able to tell if it was something bad,” Sal soothed, gesturing a hand towards her. “Have you felt anything that would make you think it is?”

“No, at least,” her face twisted with confusion, “I don’t think so?”

“Fine,” Todd caved, raising his hands in defeat. “I won’t pressure you, but without further investigating you’ll never know what this is.”

“I just need some time,” she said. “Let me just...think about it, okay?”

Sal nodded. “Take all the time you need. We’re not going anywhere.”

She thanked him. 

“Now if you’ll excuse me,” she handed the buzzing device back to Sal, watching it go dead with a hard swallow, “I’m going to go puke my guts out. See you next period.”

Before he could say anything she was rushing out of the room, grabbing her lunchbox on the way. Todd called his name and he sighed, worry tying his insides into one big knot. 

“Sally,” Todd said quietly, “this could be a bad case of possession.”

“What?” he muttered, facing him with wide eyes. “You think she’s  _ possessed _ ?” 

“The device only goes off if she’s touching it and it’s meant to pick up any ghosts in the vicinity. That would make  _ her _ the entity.”

“It started going off when we made her upset, too,” he noted, raising a hand to rub his neck. “Maybe it’s just attached to her. If it is a ghost.”

“At this point I’m positive it’s nothing but that. I’m just concerned if this will threaten her health. I’ve read countless articles on spirits snatching bodies or draining people of their life force. This could be potentially dangerous.”

“She said she hasn’t felt any different.”

“It could be gradual.” Todd sighed, massaging his temples. The stress was getting to him, too. “You have to persuade her to use the device. We need to see whatever it is attached to her, talk to it if we can. That’s the only way we’ll get some answers.”

“I can’t _force_ her—”

“Give her some time like she wanted,” he said, pacifying him enough to continue, “but if this starts to get worse, we won’t have much of a choice anymore.”

He knew he was right. Todd knew everything there was to know about the supernatural. Usually that was a good thing, but now Bugs wasn’t the only one sick to her stomach. 

“I need to head back to class. The bell is about to ring,” Todd said, patting Sal’s shoulder as he walked by. “She’ll be okay, Sally. She seems like a strong girl and, like you said, she has us to help her.”

“Yeah,” he said softly, gazing down at the Gear Boy. “Yeah, you’re right.”

They were comforting words but it didn’t keep Sal from getting distracted for the rest of the school day. He couldn’t stop the cogs from turning in his head, wondering just what type of entity would want to attach itself to [Name]. If it really was something malicious, wouldn’t she have been able to tell? Maybe it would feel like a curse hanging over her head or bad things would be happening left and right.

_ Bad things. _ The thought echoed, buzzing around his brain like a bee stuck in a jar. An idea was hanging off the precipice of his comprehension, straining his brain as he dove deeper in search of the reasoning that was driving him up the wall. The bee slipped from its prison and poised its stinger.

And thought stung, splitting his heart in two as he made eye-contact with her from his locker.

He’d had so many questions when he had found out she was one of the new tenants, curious of New Jersey and how that horrible school from his childhood fared. But most of all, he wondered why she had been by herself that day, waiting by the bus stop with a covered face and a holed up heart. And it had occurred to him while trying to remember her from his past, that he’d only ever heard of her through a boy in some of his classes.

Alex had been one of the only kids who’d been involuntarily kind to him, picking off those who were ballsy enough to harass Sal in front of him. He was on one of the sports team, football if he recalled it correctly. He was the middle school sweetheart and so was his twin sister--

“[Name],” Sal breathed.

“What? Get bored of Bugs already?”

He blinked, his head falling out of the clouds and back onto his hitched shoulders with a short intake of breath. She tilted her own at him, befuddled by his wide eyes and stiff posture.

“Uh, no, I just…” He took another breath to calm his nerves, turning away from her and back to his open locker. “You just surprised me.”

“What? We just had the greatest eye-staring contest of the century!” she joked and he tried to laugh it off, he really did. God, his brain had gone and done it now, painting such a depressing picture out of their preternatural mess. 

“Lost in thought,” he said, stuffing his book bag and slamming the metallic door shut. 

She didn’t comment on the quick excuse and he didn’t expect her to, what with the fiasco they went through at lunch. Even if she was all smiles now, it was clear that she had an idea of what he was thinking about. He had been with her for the rest of school and she’d acted like nothing was wrong, promising him she hadn’t wasted her precious junk food when he asked if she needed to see the nurse. She didn’t want to talk about it and he wouldn’t make her, so while she put on a mask, he hid behind his and worried over the problem at hand for the both of them. Perks of his prosthetic: no one could ever tell how he felt. Unless they knew his body language, that is, and only his close friends were experts at that.

“We’re gonna miss the bus so put your rear in gear,” she said, nodding towards the exit. 

“Where’s Larry?” He usually met up with them after his last period.

“He said he had to do something. He’ll meet us there.” 

Turned out he’d actually beat them to the bus, waving the two along so the doors wouldn’t close on them. The driver glared as they rushed passed to their seats, Sal and her apologizing as they did. 

“Dude, someone found the study guide answers for math online! I got the web address just now,” Larry celebrated, showing off the messy handwriting on his arm. 

“Is that a five or an s?” Sal asked, face drawing closer to it.

“We’ll figure it out later,” he waved off.

“Better screw up some of the answers or you’ll teacher will suspect something,” Bugs called across the aisle. 

“Duh, dudette, I’m not an idiot.”

“Oh?”

“That stands to be proven.” Sal said, huffing out a laugh as Larry punched his arm.

“You clearly don’t want the answers then.”

“Oh, Larry! The almighty genius!” she declared, mocking a bow from the waist up as her legs were bent on her seat. 

“See?” Larry chuckled. “She’s got the right idea.”

Their buffoonery continued to the apartments where he realized he would need Todd’s computer to copy the answers. As he was probably already back (due to their stop being the last on the bus’ route and Todd being driven home), Larry decided to go up and ask.   


“Wanna meet in my room after I get it?”

Sal shrugged. “I practically live there, so yeah.”

“I’ll have to ask my mom,” Bugs grumbled. “Wasn’t too keen on the study sessions so we’ll see how this goes.”

“Why wouldn’t she let you study with us? You’re  _ studying _ ,” Larry asked, baffled. 

“Could be just about anything,” she shrugged, “she’s crazy.”

“Well, here.” Sal fumbled with his pack before giving her his walkie-talkie. “If she doesn’t let you, we can give you the answers through this.”

“Rebellion!” she cried, thanking him as she pocketed the radio and the three of them shuffled into the elevator. “I’ll give it back tomorrow if she holds me prisoner.”

“Hopefully, she won’t,” he said before turning to Larry who was pressing the buttons for the second and fourth floor. “I’ll go ahead and go to Todd’s with you. I forgot dad went into the office today.”

“Oh, for that project you mentioned?”

“Yeah. He worked hard on it; I hope the meeting went well.”

“I’m sure it did, bro.”

The ding alerted them to the arrival of Todd’s floor, doors sliding open. Larry stepped out with Sal right behind him. He waved at [Name].

“See you soon, hopefully,” she farewelled, pretending to tip a hat his way. The elevator closed on her soft smile and he paused in the hall, letting his assumption about her cloud his mind again.

“You coming, Sally Face?”

“Yeah,” he called. “Right behind you.”

When the doors closed on Sal, she was finally able to let her guard down, leaning back against the railing as she ascended. She noticed the small camera stalking her from a corner and almost stuck her tongue out at it before remembering who was behind it. Didn’t want to screw up her “polite character” for Addison. 

She wasn’t safe to take a breather in the hall either as another camera was watching it, but once she was within the safe confinement of her apartment she sagged onto the couch with a groan.

“Honey, is that you?”

“Yeah, mom,” she called.

“School good?” her mom asked, head peeking out of the bathroom. 

She raised a hand to make a so-so gesture. “Can I hang out with Larry and Sal? We’re gonna go over math homework.”

“Aren’t there any girls you could study with? I don’t like you hanging around all these boys.”

“Mom, they’re nice. And we do have girls in our group. They’re coming to the study session tomorrow.”

“Oh, good! Are they nice? What are their names?”

She entertained her mom for the next few minutes, telling her about the artist that was Ashley Campbell and how she got along with her. She didn’t have much to say about Maple as they hadn’t gotten to talk all that much yet. They shared a few classes together but she seemed to stick around Chug since he was in them, too. That and [Name] always had Sal to chat to as well as some of the others depending on the class. 

It was comforting to have at least one friend in every period. She didn’t know what she would do if she was on her own. Funny how she thought that now when that had been her plan the moment she got there. 

“So can I go?” she asked again, pleading her mom.

“I guess so. Be back around six-thirty, though. Dinner will be ready around then,” she pointed a freshly painted nail at her, “and I expect you to finish it this time.”

“Iwillbyeiloveyou!” she said in one breath, springing off the couch and out the door.

“I love you, too--don’t run!” her mom called as the door closed.

Snatching the walkie from her bag she skipped merrily down the hall as she passed on the good news.

“Got the okay from mom. You guys still at Todd’s?”

There was a moment of static as she waited, spamming the call button for the elevator. Why didn’t this building have stairs? Such a fire hazard. 

“Hellooo?” she sang into the microphone. Had she pressed the wrong button? “You guys hear me?”

_ “Hey, yeah, sorry walkie was in my bag. What’s up?”  _ Larry replied.

“Oh, mom said I could come over. You still at Todd’s?”

_ “Yeah, we are. Come on over, it’s room 202.” _

“Okie-dokie. On my way.”

_ What took so long?  _ she wondered, perking up as the elevator finally arrived.

What had taken so long was upon arriving at the room, Todd proceeded to tell Larry about the possible possession problem when he had asked if Sal had talked to [Name] anymore about it.

“Why didn’t you tell me, dude?” Larry asked, a little annoyed. “First, you tell her about the apartments without me and forget to mention it, now she’s a ghost trap?”

“How was I supposed to tell you? She’s in the rest of the classes I have with you and she obviously didn’t want to talk about it,” he defended. “It wasn’t like I was gonna hide it from you.”

“I  _ know _ , I just feel left out,” he grumbled. “I didn’t get to see her reaction to this place being haunted and now  _ she’s  _ the one doing the haunting.”

“That isn’t how possession works,” Todd said, looking up from Larry’s outstretched arm. He was busy typing the link into the search bar for the second time because, apparently, the s was actually a five. That or he’d written it down incorrectly.

“Still!”

“Look, I think we just need to keep this quiet until she wants to talk about it because I have a really bad feeling…” Sal’s voice faded as his hands wrung his shirt repeatedly, biting at chapped lips and second-guessing telling them his theory.

“What is it, Sally Face?” Todd asked, spinning around in his chair. “Do you think it’s a malicious spirit?”

He shook his head, pigtails bouncing. “Opposite, actually.”

“Why would a good ghost possess someone?” Larry questioned, lost.

“Well, there is always a chance it could be the apparition of a friend or family member that’s passed on, but we don’t know if--oh,” Todd murmured, eyes focusing on Sal. “That’s why you’re so anxious. Out of all of us, you’d know who it would be since you and [Name] went to the same school.”

“But you said you didn’t really know each other before class the other day,” Larry reminded him.

“We didn’t,” he sighed, closing his eyes as his head lowered. “I knew her brother.”

“Brother? But mom said there was only--” Larry cut himself off as the information pieces itself together. “Oh…”

The three of them nodded solemnly, nearly synchronized.

_ “Hellooo?” _

Larry jumped as Sal jerked his head up at the sound of her voice crackling through the walkie. As his friend dug through his bag for the device and responded, Sal walked over to Todd.

“Don’t mention anything. That’s probably why they moved in the first place--for a fresh start.”

He nodded, speaking quietly as Larry told her to head down in the background. “I won’t, though, they must’ve been close to one another if he attached himself to her after death.”

“Well, they _were_ twins.”

Todd gave him a look. “That’s explains it, then. The bond between twins has been studied for years. Too bad they aren’t privy to our research.”

“Well, if we ever get out of this town and everyone agrees, you could write an entire paper on all of this and probably make some money on ghost detectors.”

“I’ve already begun my thesis,” he said with a confident grin, fixing his glasses. “Don’t worry. It’s encrypted.”

Sal chuckled as a knock bled through the thin walls. Hearing the voices of his parents, Todd let out an irritated grunt and hurried to save the poor girl from their high as a kite selves. Larry took his seat at the computer, eyeing the link and his arm before typing in the last few digits. In seconds, the first page of their study guide was on the screen with all the answers they needed.

Larry raised his marked arm, not even glancing at Sal as they bumped fists, whispering, _“Nice.”_

“I really feel like that elevator is gonna fail one day,” [Name] said upon entering Todd’s room. “Not to mention we need stairs. What kind of  _ idiot  _ doesn’t build an apartment with-- _ BOB!  _ Oh my god!”

Todd raised an eyebrow as she gawked at the poor fish who’d puffed up from the sudden yell of his name as well as a face being pressed up against his tank.

“Oh shit!” she hissed, appalled by the inflation.  Larry and Sal lost it, the former banging his fist on the desk while the latter just let the floor take him. They howled while Bob struggled to maneuver around his home with his new size.

“This is precisely why we don’t congregate in my room. Bob is a sensitive fish ergo he needs a calm environment  _ and  _ owner.”

“Oh, Todd, I’m  _ so  _ sorry,” she swore, trying very hard not to laugh as Bob bonked against the glass. It didn’t help that the two boys were still in tears on the other side of the room.

“It’s fine. This wouldn’t be the first time this happened as Larry wanted to test that Bob was indeed a pufferfish…”

“Okay,” Larry wheezed, pointing at the genius, “listen, that was  _ one  _ time, and I promised I wouldn’t do it again.”

“And, thankfully, you haven’t.”

“Will he be okay? Is it bad for them?” she asked, concerned.

“It takes quite a long time for him to return to his normal size and I doubt the stress does him any good, but I think he'll be fine. This doesn’t happen on a regular basis.”

She sighed, relieved as she threw another apologetic smile towards the fish before approaching the duo who’d finally ceased their laughter. Sal remained on the floor to pull out his study guide and pencil, Larry doing the same above him.

“You going to copy the answers down, Todd?” he asked.

“I will keep the tab open to check my work at a later date, so no.”

“Mind calling them out then?”

Their friend blew a long breath from his nose before agreeing, asking that Larry move from his seat in return. For the next few minutes his guests were silent as he droned out the correct numbers, the trio hastily writing them down.

For the first twenty-two questions, Sal merely checked his work, only having to mark a handful incorrect. After that, he was in the same boat as the others. Like Todd, he’d do all the work and make sure his answers were correct. The practice is what helped them ace the test and he remembered to tell Larry that once they were finished copying.

“Yeah, but a packet worth of practice for a twenty-five question test? That’s ridiculous.”

“I see both sides of this debate as valid,” [Name] stated, raising her pencil. “We should have the same amount on a study guide.”

“What if someone wants to practice more?” Sal asked.

“Then I’m sure the teacher would gladly give them more packets to finish.”

“Amen,” Larry said.

“You don’t believe in God.”

“Still a cool word, bro.”

Rolling his eye at his friends, Sal turned as [Name] held out his walkie to him. He took it and shoved it back in his bag where it belonged, thanking her during the process.

“What now?” she asked.

“Now you leave Bob and I in peace,” Todd said, partly joking. “I have to work on my English paper.”

“Bummer,” Larry sighed. “Back to my place, it is!”

“We can finally introduce you to Sanity’s Fall,” Sal said to her.

Larry practically tackled her out of pure excitement. “You haven’t heard of Sanity’s Fall?!”

“Indoor voices,” Todd reminded him, typing away at his keyboard.

“My bad,” he said before hauling himself onto his feet, dragging [Name] behind him. “I gotta play you their first album. The second one came out not too long ago so you’re insanely lucky you don’t have to wait for it like I did.”

While they made him way out, Larry ranting about his favorite band, Sal gathered his stuff and thanked Todd for letting them use his computer. 

“No problem. Keep an eye on Bugs, okay?” he told him, softly. “I don’t know how long it’s been, but people are fragile after such a monumental loss. You’re probably the only one who can understand that.”

“Larry could, too.”

Todd shook his head, lidded eyes clear as they stared into his. “Not like you, Sally Face.”

_ Not like you. _ His words followed him to the basement and even further and Sal thought he understood what he meant. Larry’s dad had disappeared and there was still a chance he could be out there somewhere. Sal didn’t have that hope and neither did Bugs.

But if it was Alex that was attached to her, she wouldn’t have to worry about never seeing him again.

Sal found he was envious of that.  More envious than anyone could ever imagine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come rant about this story with me on my tumblr! i love to rant (who doesnt?)
> 
> tumblr: https://meliapis.tumblr.com/


	5. pink ink

Stress could break down anyone and anything, including her. _Especially_ her. Figuring out the cause could be simple or like searching for a needle in a haystack blindfolded. Either way there would be pain at some point in the process. 

School work was usually the first suspect. That type of stress had been hovering over her head since before the big move and it’d only been gaining traction ever since. She nearly dropped out in New Jersey with the amount of absences that piled up. Though, it was kind of nice attending Saturday school. Gave her an excuse to not go out with her so called “friends” at the time. That and there was no threat of sympathizers crowding her there in that near empty classroom. Her favorite teacher even gave up their weekends to get her caught up. They still treated her like glass. 

Despite the heavy amount of pressure she was under to get good grades on her finals, it wasn’t her high school education weighing her down. Her mother’s expectations lost all emphasis the moment the girl realized she never cared what she thought and barely anyone else for that matter. Any effort put forth solely was meant for her dad and the new friends she’d made on her journey to this small, rural town. She didn’t want to disappoint them, they were all she had left. 

It was easier to dismiss the tension if she used one of those concepts; there were plenty of excuses to be made with either of them. But she could hear the whispers again and they were strong enough to make her swallow her tongue. She’d rather choke than construct half-truths because it didn’t matter if she said it was school or it was her mother or if it was the next fucking world war about kill them all. They would all look down at her with that pitying gaze and say the exact same thing. 

_“It’s okay. It’s hard to lose someone, we understand.”_

_“Don’t push yourself. You’re still grieving.”_

_“I’m here if you need to talk to me. I know you’re going through a hard time.”_

God.

_God._

**_G o d_ ** _._

Like she didn’t _know_ that already. Like she didn’t wake up every day with that soul-crushing _weight_ settled on her chest. Like she didn’t realize her precious big brother was _six feet under, pushing up daisies, s l e e p i n g w i t h t h e f i s h e s_ . Couldn’t you just let her use some typical excuse? Even if the core problem—the _real_ problem—was staring her in the face, would you just let her lie through her teeth and walk away? It’s not like it wasn’t there—it was no matter where she looked. Just let her pretend. Let her blind herself with her new attitude and hide behind his clothes and his music and his _skateboard_ of all things. She knew that he was gone and she’d accepted it. _Was_ accepting it. 

In her defense, she had been getting better. Sure, she hadn’t opened up to anyone since the accident, but she hadn’t suffered another emotional breakdown since New Jersey. That was a plus, right? And, yeah, maybe she couldn’t say his name or handle the thought of him around others just yet, but her parents were shit at that, too. If the adults couldn’t grieve by healthy standards how the hell was she supposed to? Hell if she didn’t at least try.

In the past three months, she’d pushed herself to catch up on her work and allowed herself to cry when she needed to. Unlike her parents, she refused to shut everything out about him, so the wardrobe change felt necessary. It was a small comfort but it _helped_ her. The smell of his favorite cologne, the songs he listened to on repeat that made her want to kick her own head in at times, it all aided the grieving process. His hobbies even helped her realize what she truly enjoyed in life. She would have never known how much she enjoyed skateboarding if she hadn’t taken up his. Even when he was gone, he was still looking out for her, guiding her. 

And now that there was a slight chance he wasn’t gone? That he could be following her around and making the lights bug out and quite possibly be the reason her phone was out of commission? It was a lot to handle. It was _stressful_. 

So excuse her for seeming a bit out of it at breakfast, mom. It wasn’t intentional. 

She really was sorry she didn’t reply to you, Larry, Sal; she hadn’t heard what you’d said. 

And for the loving of _fucking_ god. 

“Sorry, Mrs. Packerton. It won’t happen again.”

Forgive her for falling asleep in class when she’d finished the packet the day before (cheating aside). 

For once, she was looking forward to studying. She hated everything about high school, don’t get her wrong, but at least she would be surrounded by friends tonight and could let loose while Ashley pointed out her mistakes in anatomy or Todd corrected a few historical facts on her paper. At least she had a couple of A+ students on her side. Finals were the last thing she should be pulling her hair out over.

“You okay?” Sal asked, standing beside her desk as the bell echoed into silence out in the halls. 

“Yeah, just stayed up too late last night, I guess.” Not like she could tell him about the nightmares lest she worry him even more with her diminishing mental health. 

“I don’t blame you,” he mumbled and she eyed him curiously, “this is one of the most boring classes to ever exist.”

“Could always tape photos of eyes to your mask. Doubt she could tell the difference.”

“Bold of you to assume I haven’t already tried to.”

She raised an eyebrow, but before she could get an answer out of him the teacher was ushering them to get a move on before they were late. She scrambled with her papers and pencil, tucking the writing tool behind her ear as the two of them left for their next class: lunch, and technically art for her. 

“Larry’s mom made us homemade rice krispies for the study sesh tonight.”

Her stomach growled and she reminded herself not to forget her lunch bag in her locker again, scanning the metal doors for her designated number. 

“Lisa is a _saint_.” She had the pleasure of finally meeting her the other day as the woman had beaten her cold once and for all. If she thought Sal was full of compliments then Lisa could have been the person to create them she was so nice. Took everything in her not burst into blames when she went on about how she was the cutest thing she’d ever seen and if she’d ever had a daughter she hoped she would’ve been just like her. Just, like, it was a lot to process. And if anyone had taken a shot for every time she’d said thanks they would be dead and then some.

Mm, yeah, not the best thought process there. Let’s derail that train and find another mountain to scale while chanting at the top of her lungs “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.” All, mentally, of course. 

“You getting your lunch bag? You might be late,” he warned, slowly inching his way towards his class which just so happened to be across from her locker. 

“Art teacher doesn’t care about roll anymore,” she said, digging around for a paper clip to utilize the handy dandy trick her friends had taught her. 

“Alright. See you in fifteen.”

She waved over her shoulder, battling with the lock as the classroom door shut behind her. The bell rang and she heard a couple of students rush by as she finally yanked open the sorry excuse for storage. She traded some papers and reached for her lunch hanging on the side (hook courtesy of Ashley, that angel). Footsteps echoed as she withdrew, pausing when black flashed over her for a moment. Did the light just—?

Pain was shooting up her forearm before she could finish her thought, her locker door having suddenly slammed into it. 

“Ow! What the fuck?” She wrenched her arm to her chest, slab shutting with bang as a sneaker squeaked against the floor next to her. She glared up at her assaulter and groaned internally as the blonde hair clicked in her mind. 

“Don’t you have a class to be at?” she asked Travis, retrieving the lunch bag she dropped and getting to her feet. Her arm still stung like a bitch. There would be a bruise there by the end of the day. 

“Don’t you, drowsy bitch?” he spat, heated glare (and spoken title) revealing that she did _not_ have the energy to deal with this moronic piece of shit at the moment. The light flickering overhead didn’t help either. 

“You’re right! I do,” she hummed, stepping around him. 

“You should stop hanging around those faggots!” he growled after her. “You’ll be a target if you do.”

“Thanks for the warning! Make sure to practice your aim.” She turned to wink at him, confident with the amount of space she’d put between them. “Faces are the moneymakers.”

Damn and she thought Sal’s ears could turn red. His embarrassment had nothing on the pure rage filling Travis’ cheeks, head ready a blood vessel or two. She wouldn’t be surprised if steam shot out of his ears right about now.

Larry and Ash traded artworks for the first half of class, critiquing and what not before they dragged her into some doodle game that involved folding a paper into three sections. She wasn’t able to see what the others drew, only small lines indicating how wide their part of the character’s body was. She went with duck feet and boy was she glad she thought of them because they just completed the look, honestly. The person-creature-thing was something to behold with Larry’s expressionism type face and Ashley’s realistic looking wrestler’s torso. They decided its name would be Martin but the custody terms ended any sort of compromise and followed them to the cafeteria.

While their good-natured bickering faded in the direction of the lunch line, [Name] took the long way around to their table, having to avoid a puddle of who knew what on the floor. It was in the midst of her harrowing journey that she realized her advantage. Sal’s back was facing her and the lovebirds Maple and Chug were too busy chatting it up to see her coming.

It was a golden opportunity and she reveled in it, setting down her lunch bag whilst deciding what would be her best plan of attack. She noticed the bottom buckle of his mask was undone and caught a glimpse of a straw making its way towards his covered lips. Grinning to herself, she slid up behind him and raised his pigtails to full attention.

His shoulders jerked up, head tilting back to showcase his round eyed look of astonishment before discerning the smug expression as hers and not some handsy stranger. 

“Who’s the bunny now?” she simpered.

“Still you, Bugs,” he said with soft conviction, tone thoroughly amused. 

The smirk was offset by an affectionate grin but only for a moment. In a flash she was dropping his tails with a pout and sighing dejectedly, inner actress taking the spotlight as per usual. 

“Then, I guess I must accept that which has been given to me with a final farewell…” Swiping her bag from the floor and plopping into the empty space beside him, she intertwined her hands atop the grubby tabletop and inclined her head towards the rest of the group who were taking their seats. “That’s all folks.”

“What?” Larry deadpanned, leaving Ashley to crack up across from a smirking Todd. 

Sal just shook his head, finally taking the sip of milk that had been so rudely interrupted. As he drank his fill, he watched [Name] explain her skit to their befuddled friend while Ashley unfolded a paper that had Todd doing a double take. It was only when his brows furrowed that she turned it to face Sal, and he very nearly inhaled the dairy product at the sight of a duck-footed bodybuilder. 

“That is a cursed image if I ever saw one,” Todd said bluntly, stabbing into his mushy green beans.

“What drugs were you on when you drew that?” Sal asked, holding back a laugh.

“Martin was a group effort and we love him, don’t we guys?” Ash asked Larry and Bugs, catching the latter stuffing her face full of twinkies. 

“Unconditionally,” Larry agreed, throwing back his chocolate milk like it was a shot of something sinister. Only thing sinister about it was the stomach ache it could bring to people with lactose intolerance.

“Something only a mother could love,” Bugs stated, a smear of filling on her chin. He nudged her, motioning to his own as she looked at him. She chuckled as she wiped it off with the pad of her thumbs, licking it clean when she was through. 

His head whipped straight ahead, heart bashing against his rib cage like it had the potential to shatter it. Pure thoughts pure thoughts pure thoughts--his teenage hormones did not define him. A deep breath through his nose and noisy slurp from the remaining liquid in his carton and he was at peace.

“If I beat you in an arm wrestling match can I have the other twinkie?” He heard Ash ask, her eyes set on the golden delicacy of American snack cakes in front of Bugs. 

“Even though I know full and well you could beat my ass, let’s fucking go,” she issued, moving a few wrappers and trays (that being his and Larry’s) out of the way to lean over the table. Larry scrambled with something on the other side of her; Sal didn’t have the best view. 

“Dude, watch my pudding cup!”

“Move it or lose it, this is elbow territory.”

“Todd, could you count it down, please?” appealed Ash, expression focused as she got a good grip on her opponent’s hand.

“Couldn’t you just flip a coin?” he complained, already standing up to stand behind her so he would have a better view of both sides of the table. 

Sal felt a hand tap his back and leaned away from the table to peer around at Larry.

“My bets on Ash,” he whispered, grunting shortly after as a free arm dug into his abdomen. 

Sal chuckled. “Bugs won my vote.”

“You can do it, [Name]!” Maple called, surprising the rest of the gang.

“Don’t listen to her, you got this, Ash!” bellowed Chug. 

Todd bent over the table to get their hands positioned correctly. 

“Alright, after one,” he said and it got just a bit quieter, the tension rising. “Three...two...one…go!”

Cheers broke out among the group as the battle began and Sal watched with bated breath as the girl’s hands trembled, staying put in the middle as one tried to overpower the other. Sal cheered Bugs on in silence, hands curling into fists as he leaned forward with utter fascination. His eye kept fluttering between them, noticing the drive in Ash’s gaze and the determination in hers. Something felt off, though. He couldn’t put his finger on it as Ash slowly began to cross over the center line, but he caught a glimpse in Bugs expression right before her arm slammed into the table. 

“Right on, Ash!” Larry whooped as she laughed, raising her hands in triumph as Bugs withdrew. Sal didn’t like the way she was cradling her arm in her lap. Any trace of what he had seen on her face was gone as she grinned, congratulating Ash and sliding the reward across the table.

“Told you you’d beat me,” she sighed, laying her chin in the palm of her other hand. 

“Oh, come on! You had me in the beginning,” Ash laughed, tearing the plastic wrap off and taking a bite of her sweet, sweet victory. “You’ll beat me next time for sure.”

“Right,” Bugs humored, picking up a bag of chips. “But please bless me with your strength and help me open these.”

The rest of lunch went on normally, but Sal noted that she wasn’t using her dominant arm as much as she had been previous. He hoped she hadn’t sprained it. There was no way she could sit there and smile if she had broken it, or at least he didn’t think so. 

When the bell rang and everyone started back to their previous class, Sal waited in the hall, having seen her dart into the bathroom. Five minutes passed and he accepted he’d be late as the second bell rattled (and that he looked like stalker). Soon enough she came back out and he pushed off the wall to meet her halfway as she spotted him.

“Lunch not settle well with you either?” she joked.

“Is your arm okay?” he asked, not leaving her any room to deflect this time around. “Did you sprain it?”

“No,” she breathed, losing her grin. “I’m fine, seriously.”

“Can I see?”

“Sal, c’mon—”

“Please?" She glared at him, looking away and muttering to herself as she offered over the injured limb. He apologized when she winced, trying to slide the long sleeve up as carefully as he could. The sight of a particularly nasty bruise had him hissing a breath. It made his arm hurt just looking at it. “What happened?” he implored.

She shrugged, nonchalant despite the oblong gash reaching for her wrist. “Ash’s a beast, what can I say.”

“ _[Name]._ ”

“Look, Travis just got a little friendly, alright? It’s not a big deal.”

“Travis did this?” After everything that had happened between him and the local bully, this shouldn’t have been much of a surprise.

“From what I heard it’s not the worst he’s done,” she said, pulling the sleeve back down and backing away. Sal hated that she was right in her statement, but that didn’t mean her pain paled in comparison to anyone else’s. “Can we just forget about it? I don’t wanna make a big deal out of it.”

He grunted, frustrated at the fact his friend had been hurt and no one had been none the wiser until now. It wasn’t fair how Travis got away with all the shit he pulled on a weekly basis. As far as he knew, he was usually the prime victim but it looked like the fresh meat that is a new student had lead him towards Bugs. He would tell an adult if it’d actually _do_ something and not stir up the pot. Man, now he knew how Larry and Ash felt after he took a beating from the asshole. 

Inhaling slowly, he forced himself to calm down and think clearly. 

“I can’t believe he’d actually hurt a girl,” he breathed out. “That’s low even for him.”

“Boy doesn’t discriminate against that at least.”

“We should go to the nurse,” he pressed.

She gave him a bland look. “It’s just a bruise. I’ll ice it when we get back to the apartments. Besides I don’t want anyone asking questions about how it happened.”

He knew he wasn’t going to get through to her. If he was taller he might be able to drag her there but even then he hated brute acts of force. It’s exactly what lead them to this exact moment. Speaking of tall people, though. 

“Larry’s gonna kill him.”

“Oh no, nuh uh,” she shook her head, waving her hands in front of her and immediately regretting it by the look on her face. “We’re not telling anyone about this, kapeesh?”

Sal gawked at her, gesturing to her wound. “What if he keeps hurting you?”

“I’ll stick to the buddy system, okay? He only got this far because he surprised me and I was alone.” She grabbed his shoulder with her good hand when he looked away, urging his gaze back to hers. “I’ll be more careful. Worry about you, okay? He obviously has it in for you from the stories I’ve heard.”

“Great,” he huffed. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” she chuckled, bringing back a lighter atmosphere. He scuffed at the tiled ground with his soles of his shoes before she pushed him in the direction of his class. “Get a move on, worry-wart. You’re already late as fuck.”

He shuffled backwards, pace slow. “You sure you’ll be okay?” 

A grin lit up her face. “With you around? Definitely.” He smiled at that, nodding as she saluted him and headed in the opposite direction of him. “See you next period, Sally Face.”

He waited until she was safe and sound in her class before turning and starting for his own, feeling just a tad bit lighter on his feet. 

The remainder of the day was smooth sailing with them goofing off during the classes that were focused on their study guides. That or they were helping one another on their work in periods with hard ass teachers. Hangman was played, paper claws were constructed along with ninja stars that nearly landed Larry in detention (it was the one class that got a bit too wild as the trio were together), and all other sorts of activities that could be done to interrupt such critical education time. 

“Ow! _Sonofabitch_ , Larry!” [Name] hissed under her breath, refusing to be penalized for a dirty mouth _again_ . She rubbed at the sore spot on her neck where the rubber band had snapped her a little _too_ well, ignoring the discomfort when she used her bad arm. Larry was snickering until she readied her own elastic loop of whoopass, ticking an eyebrow as he ducked lower in his desk, contorting into all types of shapes to avoid her aim. 

"Shitshitshit."

“This is harder than I remember,” Sal muttered, immersed in the great origami folding of the middle school fortune teller. 

“Did you make sure the paper was square before starting?” she questioned, moving her hand the slightest bit to the left before letting her weapon fly. Larry cursed, hand flying to his nose (the biggest target honestly) as she released an evil chortle. Sal sighed behind her, flattening his sheet of paper to begin again. It would have to wait until later as the bell signaled them to move to their final class for the day.

As they left the room, the teacher repeated the due date for their work as well as to check when their final was on their personal schedules. Since Sal and [Name] had all the same classes save for one, their finals would be taken together. 

“Can’t wait to dig into all the snacks mom made,” Larry groaned, his stomach rumbling. 

“You better wait until everyone gets there or they’ll have your head,” Sal warned. His best friend had a vacuum of a stomach and knew no boundaries when it came to food. Nearly everyone had learned to not leave anything out that they planned to eat lest it disappear in a flash. It was him or Chug, at least.

“Heh, we’ll see,” Larry chuckled, smacking Sal on the back before heading to his last class. 

“Don’t be late to the bus!” Bugs called after him, earning a lazy wave over a shoulder in reply. 

Last period went by relatively quick with her showing him how to make a fortune teller. He was in charge of writing the eight possible answers down. Yes, no, maybe, ask again later, in the near future, never, that’s not relevant, and fate doesn’t give a fuck.

“I can’t wait to see who gets that last one.”

“It’ll be interesting,” he agreed, watching idly by as she colored the four squares to choose from. Blue, red, yellow, and green. “Why those?”

“They’re the basics and the others had the same letter count as one of these.”

“Turquoise?”

“Now you’re just being fancy. This is a public school, do I look like I have every color of the rainbow in marker?”

“No, but you do have a glitter gel pen.”

“Yeah for _emergencies only_.” He raised his hands in surrender as she stuck a tongue out at him playfully. Tossing him the finished took of destiny, she picked the blue square. “Spell it out hotshot.”

“B-L-U-E, what will your question be?” he rhymed, voice droning.

“Ooh, taking it to the next level. I like it.” She hummed, tapping her chin as she thought of a question. “Will I get to try one of everything at our study session?” 

She blindly pointed to a number on the inside, Sal counted, then she picked her final answer.

“Maybe,” he said, shoulders shaking as laughed quietly. 

“Larry-pig is testing my fate.”

 _“Larry-pig!”_ Sal wheezed, bending over in his seat to hold in his amusement. The bell rung soon after that, leaving them to sprint to their lockers, get a warning about said sprinting, then finishing up the journey with speed walking. 

“Guys!” Ash waved, weaving through the crowd to reach them with a paper clenched tight in her fist. “I got a pass from my dad! I can ride the bus home with you!”

“Sick,” Bugs commented. 

“You’re not gonna get a seat to yourself,” Sal reminded her in a low tone. 

“ _Un-_ sick,” she murmured where only he could hear, horror stricken as she turned her wide-eyed stare towards the ground. Then, smirks were traded as they opened their lockers and retrieved their bags. 

Larry joined them outside where they piled onto the bus, jittery with excitement to have time together after school. While the girls had their own conversation across front of them in their shared seat, Sal passed Larry the fortune teller upon his request.

“What year will I die?!” he yelled dramatically, shaking the origami like it was an eight ball.

“Yes or no questions only, what the fuck,” Bugs said, leaning forward to look around Ashley.

“Will I die next in the next ten years?” he rephrased but Sal stole the child’s toy away.

“Dude, don’t ask that!” he hissed.

“You’re doing it completely wrong,” Bugs continued, unphased by the deadly inquiry.

“I’m just joking,” Larry said to Sal before narrowing his gaze at her. “What’d I do wrong this time?”

“You pick a color, then ask your question, then pick a number and choose a flap.”

“What—that’s way too complicated.”

“That’s how I learned it, what do you mean?!”

“Oh my god you just reminded me,” Ashley started, digging through her bag and pulling out her art journal. Sal blinked as the girls went back into their own conversation, jumping when Larry stole the fortune teller back.

“Larry—”

“R-E-D, does Sally Face have a new crush?” He grinned down at him, smug as he held the paper out. “Choose a number, lover boy!”

“Shut up,” he hushed, scared of someone hearing as he swiped and missed. Sal struggled as he fell into his best friend’s lap, choking on a breath as Larry pinned him with the points of his elbows. "Ow!"

“Guess I’ll choose for you,” he hummed. “Two sounds good, since you’d be a pair, heh.”

“Larry, get off.”

“One, two...and I choose six!”

“Larry!”

“Holy shit it says yes, I fucking called it.”

_“Larry!”_

This was going to be a long study session. He could feel it in his bones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> slow updates from now on unfortunately since i started back school. ISNT THE ART AMAZING AHHHH go follow the amazing artists here! https://killemwithkawaii.tumblr.com/post/190138174528/still-you-bugs-inspired-by-the-latest-chapter  
> also comments are appreciated!


	6. grey ink

Walking up the hill to the apartments, it was unclear who exactly threw the first snowball. Sal had an inkling it wasn’t Ashley, so that only left the two wild cards of the group. 

As the victim, he was blindsided by the attack, stumbling forward as the white powder scattered from his shoulders and dampened the back of his head. He shivered, looking back over his shoulder in time to see Ashley avenging him. Larry and Bugs were already firing at one another, laughing as they dodged and jumped to avoid the enemy’s shots. 

It was a quick fight as Todd rang Ash to ask where they were. Him and the others were waiting in the lobby. 

Wet and cold, they stumbled into the building, some shoving others shivering. [Name] offered some new clothes for Ashley and the two of them headed up to her room to change. Sal tossed her the card for the elevator and headed down with Larry and the rest. He hadn’t gotten  _ that _ soaked. 

Ten minutes later, the chaos continued, snow absent. 

“You’re doing it wrong.”

“How?!”

“I keep telling you and you keep ignoring me.”

“Your short cuts make no sense, dude!”

The back and forth between Sal’s best friend and their newest friend was comical. As Todd was busy helping Chug, Bugs was left to teach the basics of math to terrible-with-numbers Johnson. She had a good head on her shoulders and was doing great catching up for finals, Sal found, but she wasn’t exactly the best with sharing her secrets. Whatever she used to get ahead, Larry couldn’t grasp it.

“What do you think of them?” 

Sal turned to Ashley as she passed him her essay. They’d talked about editing each other’s not too long ago, but he didn’t have the heart to tell her Bugs had already done it a few days ago. 

“Who?”

“Larry and [Name]?” she said softly, holding back her amusement. “I feel like there’s some chemistry there.”

Sal eyed her before looking back at the duo incredulously. They seemed about ready to strangle each other. 

“Uh…” He didn’t really have a response to that. It had never occurred to him what Larry thought of their new resident. Obviously, he liked her enough to have her hang with them and he had been relentlessly teasing Sal about having a new crush. Was there a chance that Larry could like her more than he first thought? What did Larry even act like when he liked someone? He’d never admitted to having a crush on someone before. 

“You don’t think so?” Ashley hummed, green eyes big as she regarded him. 

“I don’t know. Larry hasn’t mentioned anything.”

“Really? Maybe I’m just looking for something that isn’t there, then,” she shrugged off, eyes roving over his paper. “Sally, this paper looks near perfect—is that a  _ semicolon _ ?”

He laughed as she squinted at the paper before shaking her head. 

“Didn’t know you were so bougie.”

“I like to spice things up, what can I say?”

As they laughed, Bugs glanced over, a thoughtful look falling over her features as Larry furiously erased his paper next to her. Shavings tumbled onto her worksheet as she laid her chin in her hands.

“Does Sal like Ash?”

Larry blinked, glancing at the girl before towards his buddy. Shit, what was the best course of action when there were feelings between them but there was a chance Sal could be moving on?

“Maybe?” He cleared his throat. “I feel like he might have a crush on someone else, though. It’s hard to tell because he never admits anything.”

“Ohh,” she sang, wiggling her brows at him. “Who do you think it is?” 

“Bros before hoes, dudette, and I mean that in the kindest way possible.”

She gave him a deadpan look. “You don’t know shit, do you?”

“Look, he’s hard to read sometimes. Gimme a break,” he breathed, turning his focus back to his math equations. “Can you teach me that formula song again?”

“Maybe I should change the tune to a sanity falls song.”

“Could we? That sounds  _ awesome _ .”

It was mostly just screaming the formula until it stuck while head banging. Lots of fun, though.

An hour or so passed when Lisa popped in for a visit. She was so happy to see everyone, ruffling her sons hair as she passed by to grab some day old coffee from the kitchen. 

“You’re all so studious! I wish that had been me.”

“Lisa you've got brains for days!” Bugs called.

“Oh, thanks, hon. It’s all experience, though. Not numbers and equations.”

The girl winked at her, earning a bout of laughter from Larry when she whispered “You can start calling me mommy, too.”

“I can tell you all were hungry. The snacks are almost gone!” Lisa chuckled.

“It’s your cooking. Too good to resist,” Ash said. Everyone murmured an agreement. 

“You all are too sweet.” She fixed herself a thermos and started for the door. “Alright, I’ll let you guys get back to your studies!”

“Bye, Ms. Johnson!” the kids sang. 

She waved as she shut the door behind her. 

Everyone switched places to move onto other subjects. It seemed like everyone was struggling in at least one class, save for Todd, of course. 

Around eight, Ashley and Maple left to go home and Chug headed upstairs. Todd stuck around for a little longer before excusing himself, too. Bob needed to be fed. 

The grand trio moved to Larry’s room before long and Sal was finishing up on his last study sheet when he realized Bugs had fallen asleep on the floor. It looked like she’d been memorizing anatomy. 

“When did she fall asleep?” he whispered, tilting his head back to look at Larry who sat on his bed behind him playing on the game boy he snagged from his bag. 

“Dunno. She looked tired as shit, though.”

“Maybe she has insomnia.”

“Oh, another thing in common~”

“Dude, be quiet.”

“She thinks you like Ashley, by the way,” he told him, button mashing like crazy. “So if you like her you might want to make it a bit more obvious.”

“I don’t like her!” he said seriously, then paused to make sure Bugs was still out for the count. She was if the drool had anything to say about it. 

“You sure about that?”

“I’m 100% sure if it gets you to shut up,” he muttered. 

Sensing the hostility, he surrendered. “Fine, I’ll drop it. But you can’t say you guys don’t look good together.”

“You sure  _ you _ don’t like her?”

“If I say I do will it make you jealous and push you to ask her out?”

He scoffed. “No, dude, because I’d want my best friend to be happy.”

“Aw, bro! I’m gonna cry!”

Sal shook his head at the boy, pigtails flapping as he returned to his work. Before he could read the questions presented there was a knock at Larry’s door. 

“Hon? [Name]’s mother is here,” Lisa called through. 

The guys shared a glance before Sal moved to nudge the girl awake. 

“Hey, Bugs?” he said softly. She stirred, snorting quietly before easing her head. The paper beneath her stuck to her face as she did and Sal held back his amusement. It was a surprisingly cute look on her. 

“Huh? Crap, what time is it?” she slurred, hands patting the ground around her. He had no idea what she could be looking for. She didn’t own a watch as far as he knew 

“Your mom is here,” he said. 

She looked about ready to jump out a window as her wide eyes met his. “Shit—fuck. I need to go.”

“What? You in trouble or something?” Larry asked, still lounging a few feet away. 

“I was supposed to be back by 7.”

“Dude, it’s 7:10. Is she  _ that _ strict?”

Scrambling to get her stuff together, she booked it for the door. 

“Yeah. Sorry, guys. See you later.”

Sal grabbed a paper she dropped and turned to tell her but she was already gone. Glancing at Larry, he followed Bugs out on his own and noticed a worried look on Lisa’s face as she shut the door. She seemed to be listening in as she gave a “shush” motion. Sal joined her by the door. 

“I told you 7, [Name].”

“I know, I’m sorry! I just fell asleep—“

“I can’t believe it was just you and those boys and in a room alone! It’s not ladylike...”

“Mom, we were studying!”

Their heated voices were becoming muffled now, likely the elevator. The last thing they made out was her mother saying, “I don’t like you hanging around with them, especially the one with pigtails. Ashley was a nice girl. You should spend more time with her.”

As the argument faded with their ascent to the fourth floor, Sal looked up at Lisa. 

“Poor girl,” she murmured. “I had strict parents when I was young, too. Didn’t do me a lick of good, treating me like that.”

“What happened?” he asked. 

She shook her head. “Didn’t approve of my life choices, so I left. Larry was born a few years after that.”

“Do you still talk to them?”

“Eh, occasionally,” she hummed. “But it’s been a while now. They moved on, I think. Larry says he doesn’t care but I know he missed out on the whole grandparents experience.”

They’re silent, then. Lisa patted his shoulder and headed into the living room while he glanced down at the paper in his hands. There were little doodles scattered around on it and one of the stick figures seemed to have his pigtails. 

_ A masterpiece in the making _ , he thought. 

It’s late when he rolls over in his bed, eyes sore from staring at the wall and unable to fall asleep. Gizmo was dead to the world down by his feet, probably dreaming of his fish-flavored treats they kept hidden in the kitchen cabinets (didn’t matter because he kept finding them). 

He hadn’t been able to give Bugs back her paper. If he hadn’t been afraid of making things worse, he would’ve dropped it by her door. The last thing he wanted was to get her mother riled up all over again. 

Closing his eyes, he opened them again, brows furrowed. Had something just flashed? 

He waited for a moment, glancing around his room. Maybe a car had passed by outside? No, there it was—below him from his bag. The green gave away exactly what it was. 

Slipping out of his covers, his feet brushed the cold floor of his room as he went down on his hands and knees. Taking the game boy out, he raised it searching for the ghost’s signal. When it led him out of his room, he went back to put his mask on and followed it to his front door. He had an inkling before he gazed through the peephole. 

Bugs stood outside, staring at the ground with her arms around her middle. He waited for her to knock, to do anything. 

The device shuddered in his hand. He took the hint and opened the door. 

“Fuck, you scared the shit out of me!” she hissed, hand over her heart. 

He lifted the device in his hand up and shrugged. “Something told me you might be here.”

“Oh…” She frowned, looking down the hall as she rubbed her arm. “Sorry if it woke you up.”

“I couldn’t sleep anyway. Insomnia,” he explained and she blew out a breath, nodding like she knew exactly what he meant. 

“It’s a bitch.”

So she did have it. Good to know. 

“Want to come in?” he asked. “I have Capri Suns.”

Her lips pursed as she but back a smile. “That is the  _ weirdest _ drink to offer at two in the morning but I’d love a pouch.”

She brushed passed him and he caught a whiff of something sweet. Shampoo, maybe?

_ What the fuck, that’s weird. Stop.  _

Settling on the couch, they both sat in the quietude of Sal’s apartment as they sipped the sugary juice of their childhood. 

“I wanted to apologize,” she said after a while. 

“For what?”

She dropped her hands into her lap, fiddling with the plastic straw. “My mom. I know you probably overheard us. The walls aren't  _ that _ thick around here, so..”

“You don’t have to,” he told her. 

“Well, she won’t do it herself.”

“Yeah but you’re not responsible for her, you know? She’s the one saying stuff, not you.”

She sighed, rubbed at her eyes with one hand. “I don’t why she has to be so close minded about everything. You guys are some of the coolest people I’ve ever met and all she cares about is what you  _ wear _ and that you’re  _ boys— _ ”

“It’s hard not to judge a book by it's cover,” Sal said. “Especially if it’s something as obvious as a school textbook.”

“But you’re not obvious,” she argued, eyes meeting his. They appeared glassy in the dim light of the kitchen, flickering every so often behind her. “Larry looks and sounds like a stoner, which, sure, he kind of is, but he’s just a big softy. 

“And you—so what if there’s a prosthetic? I don’t need to look at your face to know you’re kind or smart. She wants me to find a better group—what's better than you guys?”

He had to hold back his smile. “She might come around, you never know.”

There was a crunching sound as she finished her pouch. “I hope so, Sal.”

“ _ Mrooow _ .”

“Gizmo, my dude,” she greeted, making grabby hands at the tabby. He saddled up next to her, going limp as she picked him up and placed him in her lap. He purred as she pet him, lessening the weight on her shoulders just a bit or so Sal liked to think. 

“I have some homework you left,” he told her, pushing up from the couch. “I’ll go get it.”

She hummed, indicating she’d heard him as he left. When he was back seconds later, she seemed to be nodding off. As much as he wanted to stay, he knew her mother would be furious to find her bed empty in a few hours. 

“Are you going to get in trouble if you stay?” he asked, never not hopeful. 

“Probably,” she chuckled, blinking her eyes open. “Man, I wish I felt this tired in my bed. You give off  _ way _ too cozy vibes.”

“My bad,” he laughed and she turned to grin at him, Gizmo’s tail brushing her cheek. She giggled, swatting at it playfully before scratching where it met his back. 

“Hey, I have a question,” she began softly, looking away. “You don’t have to answer it.”

He was used to this. Someone always wanted to know how it happened. It wasn’t that it made him upset or anything, well, it wasn’t fun to remember the day but it didn’t sting as much as it used to. He guessed he was just tired of telling the story.

“Are you into Ashley?”

“Wh-“ He lost his voice for a second, having not expected that. “What?”

“You have that  _ energy _ , I don’t know—had to ask. Do you not like her?” She frowned at him, confusion evident as his brain sputtered like a dying engine. 

“Uh, I don’t  _ not _ like her.”  _ What?  _ “I mean, she’s super pretty and she’s really nice—“

What?? No, that’s not right. He  _ does  _ like her. He did. He nearly had a stroke when he first laid eyes on her.

“I think she likes you back,” Bugs whispered, bumping his shoulder with hers. “If you like her, I mean.”

“Really?” Why was he not jumping for joy at that news? He would’ve two weeks ago, hell, maybe even a week ago. Before now. 

_ Before you.  _

Bugs nodded as she passed Gizmo to him, standing and stretching while Sal’s brain lagged behind. He scrambled to follow her to the door and watched silently as she left, waving before disappearing into her room. 

He paused, grip squeaking on the door jamb.

_ Oh...shit.  _

His hands rose to tangle into his hair, twisting it anxiously as the notion blindsided him like a cold spurt of water from the showerhead when it was supposed to be on bath mode.

_ Shit shit shit shit. _

Well, at least he didn’t have to worry about Ashley being out of his league anymore. 

No. Fuck. Who was he kidding? Bugs’ was passed the fucking  _ moon  _ and then some when it came down to the distance between her superiority and him (not that Ashley wasn’t any less outstanding of a person). She had been so popular at their old school—an it girl, a cheerleader. She’d never glanced twice at him back then. They’d never been spoken to one another. 

He was trying to catch a cloud here, grasping at straws, literally every other idiom that meant he was chasing after something he couldn’t have. 

Why did he have to like girls that were nice to him? It’s not like he wanted to go for someone who was mean to him, just—you know what? No. Just no. He had school in the morning. Nights were for sleeping, not having a mental breakdown over realizing he’d switched from one girl to another in a matter of  _ days _ ...

God, he was an asshole.

The loud slap of taut rubber smacking off Larry’s back was a perfect stress reliever after the hellbent week she’d just gotten through. The exams were done and over with so she didn’t have to worry about falling asleep at Larry’s again during a study session and getting an earful from her mom. The boys thought they should celebrate by heading over to the local Walmart™️ and messing around in the toys section, hence why the ball had slammed into Larry.

As he went to retaliate she sped down a few aisles, skidding to a stop when she saw Sal looking over some tech supplies.

“Watcha looking at?”

“Walkie-talkies,” he answered, reaching up for one. “We need a third so we can keep in contact.”

“Or we could just scream  _ really _ loud until we hear each other.”

He laughed at her ridiculous but viable idea and tensed when he spotted Larry behind her. Her head bent forward as one of the giant rubber balls came into contact with it and they were off again, with Larry screams echoing through the store. There was a good chance of them getting kicked out. Wouldn’t be the first time for the brunet. 

“Good news,” Bugs panted, finding him again in checkout. “Mom is going out of town for the weekend. Something about my aunt needing help.”

“And that’s good because...?”

“My dad gave me permission to hang out with you tonight! We could have a horror movie marathon or something.”

“Really?” He felt excitement claiming him at the thought of them on the couch, her retreating into his side from a jumpscare. You know, the usual. 

“Yeah! We could invite the others if you want.”

And there goes the excitement, well not completely. He was always happy to hang with his friends. “Sure. Who’d you have in mind?”

“We can’t do it without Larry, obviously.”

“Obviously,” the same boy agreed, coming up behind them and pulling them under one arm each. “What can we not do without me?”

“Movie marathon!”

“Oh,” he muttered, frowning. “I can’t. Mom wanted to do something tonight. Maybe tomorrow?”

“Sure, dude,” she waved off. “Maybe Ash and Todd could come.”

“Pretty sure Ash went on a trip with her family,” he told her and Sal immediately called bullshit on that. She hadn’t mentioned anything about a trip all week. “And Todd had a date with Neil.”

“Well, shit,” she chuckled. “Guess it’s just gonna be me and Old Blue here.”

“No,” he shot down.

“C’mon, that was a good one! You can’t keep shooting down my nicknames,” she huffed as he went through self-checkout.

“Sally Face  _ is  _ my nickname,” he reminded her, ripping the receipt from the printer.

“Yeah, sure. Just wait, I’ll find one specifically from me.”

On their way out he passed the new walkie-talkie to her, smiling as she gawked at it. She must’ve thought he wasn’t actually going to buy it. 

“I’ll pay you back when I can.”

“Don’t worry about it. Call it a celebratory present for exams.”

She gasped, grabbing onto his arm. “What about Blues Clues?!”

Larry snorted and raised his hand. “I vote for that one. That one’s too good.”

“We’re not changing my nickname!” Sal laughed.


	7. fuchsia ink

**a/n: this is trash but i wrote another chapter so enjoy. sorry my motivation is lacking for this story but i haven't abandoned it just yet :p**

“So,” Sal began, shuffling through the gargantuan stack of DVD cases, “I’m guessing your dad likes horror movies.”

“Oh, what gave it away?” Bugs said, a grin tugging at the corners of her lips as she spread her portion of the collection out like a deck of cards, just thicker, with two C’s.

“He’s got so many classics it’s insane,” he murmured. “Holy shit, _Rosemary’s Baby_?”

“You’ve watched it? Literally no one I know has seen it,” she gasped.

He shook his head in awe. “I can’t believe you like horror. You’re terrified of ghosts.”

“Just because I like the genre doesn’t mean I don’t get scared shitless,” she argued, holding up a case before wrinkling her nose and tossing it into the “fuck no” pile, as she had deemed it in the beginning of their marathon movie pick.

“But you’ve seen all these like a dozen times right? It must get old.”

“Some of them I’ve only seen once or twice and it’s not just jump scares--it’s if I’m still thinking about them when the lights go out.” She shivered, tapping a case near Sal’s “maybe” pile.

“That one kept me up for weeks.”

“ _Jeepers Creepers_?”

“It’s the song,” she muttered. “God, it gets to me. If you ever so much as hum it I _will_ hit you.” She paused to stare deep into his eye. “And you’ll wish that prosthetic of yours was thicker.”

“Noted,” he chuckled, dragging the title from “maybe” to the rejects.

“Hey, we can still watch it.”

“I don’t wanna give you nightmares. It’s not one of my favorites anyway.”

She smiled softly as he sorted through the rest of his choices, pieces of his hair falling from the pigtails he’d traded for a messy bun once the two of them had sat down on the floor to peruse your various options of torture. By now, she wasn’t surprised by how considerate the boy could be, but dammit--if he got any sweeter she might just have to squeeze the life out of him. That’s how normal people dealt with cuteness. They had to try and annihilate it, what with the brain being unable to comprehend it.

“Alright, I have my two picked out. While you finish up, I’ll go grab the snacks from my apartment,” she said, reaching over to tug gently on one of the larger pieces slipping over his mask. He grunted and she held back a giggle, free hand reaching into her back pocket to procure a snap clip she often kept around when her baby hairs became a pain in the ass. Once the hair was up and out of his way, she booped where his nose would’ve been and headed off, bare feet padding against the carpet with subdued thuds.

As the front door opened and closed, Sal remained where he was, staring at the DVDs but distantly. The heat rushing up his neck was scalding, burning the tips of his ears like an internal sunburn.

 _I’m not gonna make it_ , he thought, burying his face into his hands. He was sure his heart would just jump out of his chest at any second she was around, further cementing the fact that his new crush was not going anywhere for the time being. It didn’t help that Larry’s plan kept bouncing around his head after their trip to the store.

When [Name] had to fetch the movies, Larry asked Sal to come take a look at his collection to see if they’d want any of them. There were a few she had mentioned not having and he happened to have a few.

“This is your chance, dude!” he’d cheered once the elevator had dropped them off and she was at least a floor above them. “Horror films are the ultimate first date--she’ll scare herself right into your arms!”

“I think she likes them too much to be scared of any of them,” he’d told him, not completely dissing the idea. It wasn’t like it hadn’t already passed through his mind after all, it was a classic movie trope.

“That’s why you gotta have some tricks up your sleeve,” Larry chuckled darkly, rummaging around his room before hoisting the item high into their air with a high-pitched hum. Sal recognized the theme, some victory tune from one of their games.

“What the hell?!” Sal gasped, reaching for the DVD. “When did you buy it?”

It was one of the newest horror films out right now, having just gone on market. Their stores hadn’t been selling it, though, so literally what the fuck.

“Todd’s parents were buying their weed a few towns over and bought it for him. He let me borrow it like a week ago. So caught up in finals that I totally forgot I had it.”

“You’re so awesome.”

“Am I your wing man or am I your wing man?”

“Dude, you’re the best wing man of all wing men.”

Larry laughed, bowing as Sal thanked him while hiding the surprise in his book bag.

God, what would he do if she actually jumped on him? He could barely keep from passing out when she brushed up against him, not to mention the heart attack he was having from the hair thing just now.

He could see the headlines now: Local Teen Dies From Oxytocin Overdose.

Honestly, not the worst way to die.

Sal flinched at the sound of the doorknob turning and shook himself free of his thoughts and she shouldered the door open, arms ladened with snacks of all kinds. A pack of sour gummies dropped, making her stumble and laugh.

“I come bearing gifts,” she greeted.

“Did you dad rob a gas station?”

“Please, some of this stuff is too good to be sold at some rank store.”

“How does he hide all of this from your mom?” he asked, standing from his criss-crossed position to help sort the stuff on the small living room table. All the crackling of plastic had Gizmo prancing into the room, curious if any of it was for him. As he raised on his back legs to get a good sniff of anything hanging over the edge of the table, Bugs backpedaled to grab the stuff she’d dropped.

“He went out and bought all of this after she left, but to answer your question we hide it in a box on the highest shelf in our storage closet. She thinks its filled with dad’s tools.”

“Smart.”

“Gotta be,” she laughed, ripping open a bag of chips and munching on a few. “What’d you pick?”

He glanced back at his pile.

“Uh, _Donnie Darko_.”

“Ohh, nice one. What about your second choice?” she hummed.

“It’s a surprise.”

She pursed her lips, eyes squinting at him in suspicion.

“Have I seen it?”

He shrugged, desperately hoping she hadn’t.

“That means it’s not in my collection,” she deduced. “Well let’s put all these back in the bag and then we can pop our first one in!”

Always the gentleman, he let her play one of her picks first, grabbing the biggest blanket he owned while she set up the movie. Gizmo was dead asleep on his bed when he peeked in and he hoped he’d stay there, not wanting him to form a potential wall between him and his crush. That and she might seek comfort from his furry friend and he couldn’t have that.

“You think our dads are enjoying the hockey game?” she asked as he returned, already seated as the trailers played on the TV screen, waiting on the root menu to appear.

“No doubt. I’m glad they’re getting to know each other. My dad needed some bro time.”

“He’s such a sweetheart,” she hummed, cuddling deeper into the couch before reaching for a bowl of popcorn on the coffee table.

“Want me to switch the lights off?”

“Yes please!” she sang, mouth full.

He really might die tonight of cuteness overload.

As he flipped the switch down and the room was encased in darkness with only the television as a beacon, casting eerie shadows across the room. Unfolding the blanket he whipped over her before sitting down and getting comfortable. As the opening credits began, creepy piano music echoed about the room and the two teens were drawn into the world of horror.

Sal couldn’t help but chuckle as popcorn kernels rained over the two of them, Bugs cursing as the jump scare continued into a classic chase scene. She scrambled to pick up the spilt food as he picked out a kernel that had lodged itself into one of the eye holes on his mask.

“I forgot about that part.”

“The music is a pretty good indicator of what’s coming, you know,” he teased, flicking the not popped corn in her direction. She stuck her tongue out at him, finishing her cleaning and setting the bowl far away from her on the table. “This is only the first movie and you’re already on edge.”

“At least I’m getting into the spirit. Maybe you should take notes--this is how you watch a scary movie. She whipped their shared blanket, sending the couple of kernels she couldn’t find onto the floor. “Gizmo won’t eat those, right?”

“Nah, he’s smarter than that.”

“I’d hope so--he knows how to work your TV while you’re gone.”

Sal shrugged. “He gets bored.”

The scream from on screen brought them back to the plot at hand, wide eyes watching the gore encase the screen in gallons of fake blood. Sal winced, mentally cursing as something needled its way into his mind. He didn’t want to think of that right now.

“I wonder what they use to make fake blood,” Bugs murmured, earning his attention. He focused on her expression as she studied the screen, lips ever so parted as she took in the violence. “Could make some for Halloween or pranks, whatever comes first.”

She laughed, glancing at him before realizing he was staring at her, seemingly lost in thought.

“Hey, you okay?”

He shook his head. “Fine. You have a kernel in your hair.”

His hand reached for her, fingers trailing through some strands and pulling the raw corn free from her tresses. She blinked, picking the seed from his fingers, goosebumps rising on her arm as his fingers brushed her knuckles while pulling away.

Her brain froze as she mindlessly rolled the kernel between her fore and thumb fingers.

_What kind of fuckery was this?_

“Are _you_ okay?” he asked and she nodded.

“Never better,” she hummed, giving him a wink and flicking the inedible movie snack onto the floor with the rest she’d clean up later.

Some time later Sal was putting in _Donnie Darko_ as she went about ordering a pizza for dinner. Despite the multitude of candy on the table, she needed real sustenance. After she rang in their order, they settled back on the couch, slightly closer to Sally. She told herself it was cold and there wasn’t enough blanket to go around.

Ten minutes into the movie the pizza arrived and she happily answered the door, giving the older teen a nice tip. As he was shoving the cash into his pocket he squinted at her, leaning against the doorway.

“You that new girl that came to school last week?” he asked.

“The one and only,” she said, balancing the delicious smelling box on her hip.

“Thought so. We share English together. I’m Eric,” he introduced.

She glanced at Sal who was watching her with his chin resting against his hand, elbow on the couch’s armrest. She tried not to laugh as Gizmo jumped into his lap, nearly making him shit his pants by the looks of it.

“[Name],” she said, looking back towards her fellow student.

“Wanted to introduce myself sooner, but you always seem to be around Sally Face and his gang.”

“Yeah, they adopted me into their cult. Great guys.”

“You should be careful, you know?” he said, voice lower. “Travis kind of has it out for Sally Face and whoever hangs around him.”

She raised an eyebrow, a slight bit of annoyance slipping into her tone. “Yeah, well, I’m a big girl. Can take care of myself.”

“Alright. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he hummed, shrugging. “See you when school starts back, and thanks for the tip.”

“Have a nice night," she called as he made his way down the hall. Shutting the door, she turned to find Sal still watching her.

“What?”

“Looks like someone’s popular.”

“Oh, shove it,” she snickered, handing him the pizza box. “I’ll go get some paper towels.”

“Can you get the ranch from the fridge?”

“You eat ranch with your pizza?”

“Lots of people do.”

“Maybe, but not me.”

“You just don’t have any taste.”

She threw the bottle of ranch at him for his sass, laughing as he scrambled to catch it and keep Gizmo from pawing a piece of pizza from the box at the same time. Plopping down on the couch, she pulled the cat into her lap, nuzzling his soft head before setting him on the ground and stealing a slice for herself.

“Your food is in your bowl,” Sal told him, getting a low “mur” in response as the tabby waltzed his way into the kitchen.

“People are really afraid of Travis, aren’t they?” [Name] wondered aloud, biting into her cheesy goodness.

“Yeah, well, the school kinda sucks when it comes to punishing the bullies so no one really wants to pick a fight that they know they can’t win.”

“Pssh, watch me. I’ll knock him on his ass if he picks on us again.”

“What stopped you from doing it the first time?” he asked.

“I was late for class and I didn’t have the energy.” She looked at his untouched pizza. “You not hungry?”

“No, uh… It’s kinda hard to eat pizza without…”

She tilted her head at him, confusing for a few seconds before it dawned on her.

“Oh! My bad, I won’t look,” she said, sliding onto the ground so he was out of her peripheral view.

“You don’t have to--”

“Shut up and eat your pizza, Fisher,” she warned, gobbling away at hers as the film was unpaused. A moment passed before he quietly told her thank you and did just that.


	8. red ink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy shit its a chapter what do you know? I'll try to get the next part out soon. wish I could give you one on Christmas but something tells me I won't have the time to write it, but we will see! happy holidays!

He wakes up with a crick in his neck and an air of confusion clouding his brain. The popcorn ceiling seems different from the one in his room, then again so does the bed he’s supposed to be resting in.

Falling asleep on the couch was hard enough as is. He never felt comfortable enough to sleep until his mask was off and his eye was in its solution, and he hadn’t done either of those. The weight on his face and the dryness in his socket told him that much. Why was he even out here?

Shifting, he pulled his head up and winced at the pain before realizing something was sitting on his lap. It wasn’t Gizmo. The cat was staring at him, sitting on the living room table like that _wasn’t_ one of the few surfaces he was forbidden from.

Glancing down risked a heart malfunction as his brain struggled to catch up to the current predicament. Bugs had moved to the ground to watch the movie while he ate unmasked. Pizza was eaten. He’d surprised her with the new horror movie and she’d been absolutely over the moon as he had hoped she would be.

He vaguely remembered her moving back onto the couch when he was decent again, pulling the covers back over them at some point. The film had sent them into flight or fight mode, warranting the two to literally topple over the armrests at a jump scare that came out of nowhere. The music hadn’t even given it away.

Eventually, it had ended and with both of them so shaken up, they decided a Disney movie would be best. That’s where everything went blank.

When had she put her head in his lap? After he fell asleep? Did she _mean_ to? Was he even comfortable enough to sleep on?

Blowing out a slow breath, he took in her peaceful expression. His hand itched to move some of her hair out of her face, but when he moved the television buzzed before turning on with the volume _blasting_. Set up in the middle of Lion King with Hakuna Matata capable of rupturing eardrums was one way to wake up. It was just shifty to happen _now_ of all times.

He glared at Gizmo who sat suspiciously close to the remote on the table as Bugs jumped awake, curling further into his abdomen as she sucked in a breath.

“What the fuck?” she groaned, aggravated.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said, reaching over her to scramble for the remote. She pulled away and out of his lap as he grasped it, muting the movie.

Sitting up straight, she rubbed at her eyes. The bedhead was a great look on her, accentuating her tired expression in an endearing way. Would he ever see a side of her he didn’t like? Damn.

“What time is it?”

“No idea.” He massaged his neck as he got up, heading to the kitchen to check the microwave.

“It’s eight,” he called.

“Fuck _that_ I’m going back to sleep,” she yawned, face planting back into his seat as she pulled the covers up and over her.

“Do you want to sleep in my bed?” he asked, wandering back over.

Her voice was muffled by the couch cushions but clear enough to understand.

“No. Go sleep in your own bed.”

Gizmo jumped onto her back, earning a grunt. He made biscuits on her spine as she blindly reaches back to pet him. Even with such a rude awakening, she was an animal lover through and through.

“I can sleep on the couch,” he told her.

“I’m not moving,” she declared.

“I’ll carry you.” She snorted at the mental image. “Okay, I’ll _drag_ you.”

“Sal, Jesus,” she groaned, lifting her face up to turn her head to the side. She squinted at him, the morning light piercing through the old blinds much too bright for her. “I’ll be fine.”

He hummed and made himself at home on the floor.

“No!”

“Yes,” he muttered.

“ _Ahhhggg_!”

He huffed as a blanket fell over him and retreating footsteps sounded. He smirked, triumphant, and moved onto the couch where Gizmo glared at him “mrr”ing with attitude.

“Traitor,” he sighed, picking him up and placing him beside him as he curled up on the couch.

He couldn’t fall back to sleep, but that wasn’t anything new. Usually, he’d blame the environment, but it was as quiet as can be in the morning and even Gizmo was there to keep him company. The couch wasn’t that bad, honestly. The crick in his neck had come from the angle he slept in, but passing out like that wasn’t something he did often.

He thought, maybe, _just maybe_ , the lack of Bugs had something to do with it.

As skittish and flustered as the boy was around pretty girls, she brought out a strange sense of comfort. It wouldn’t surprise him if he fell asleep easier with her around. Hadn’t she said something similar before? About him giving off cozy vibes? He couldn’t quite pinpoint the quote, but the meaning was there. Larry helped a lot with naps, too. Just having someone there he really trusted, it did a lot of good.

To pass the time, he watched some morning cartoons on low volume. _Looney Toonz_ wasn’t on, unfortunately, so he made do with what he had.

His dad came out sometime around ten, fixing a few pieces of toast and spreading jam over them. Sal ate one as they sat in silence. Eventually he asked where [Name] had gone.

“She’s asleep in my room. I took the couch.”

“Glad to see I raised a little gentleman,” his dad chuckled, ruffling his hair. The bun he’d thrown up last night had fallen in the night. There was no telling where the hairband had gone.

“How was the game?”

“Good, good,” he nodded. “Her dad’s a great man. Real nice. We’re gonna have another game night next week. I invited Lisa, too, since he’s bringing his wife. Should be nice.”

“I’m glad you’re having fun, dad.”

“It’s a nice change of pace,” he admitted, a small smile on his lips. “Think it’s about time, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Sal agreed, softly. He looked back towards the pictures hanging up, Sal’s mom prominent in a few. “I think so, too.”

“Well, this man’s gotta get some groceries,” dad grunted, getting to his feet. “We can’t live off sandwiches forever.”

“Says you.”

He laughed as he headed to his room to get ready. Sal smiled. It was a few minutes after his dad had left the apartment that Bugs poked her head out.

“Coast clear?”

“Yes?” he said, unsure. “Were you hiding from my dad?”

“I look like shit, dude. I haven’t even brushed my teeth!”

A breath of amusement escaped as she traipsed over and plopped down next to him. She was quick to steal Gizmo from his lap, finding a leftover candy bar off the table to eat.

“Did he ask about the mess?” she asked, worried.

“No, I don’t think he noticed, honestly.”

They glanced down at the spilled kernels and wrappers before snickering to themselves. It was like a hurricane of junk food had blown through.

“We should really try to come up with a group activity for everyone over break,” she said as she began to clean up, grabbing wrappers and tossing them into the pizza box. Sal followed her lead.

“Yeah. Christmas is right around the corner so there’s festivals and stuff.”

“Oh shit, you’re so right! I forgot.”

“About _Christmas_?”

“It’s been a tough week of exams, give me a break,” she laughed.

“There’s literally decorations all over town. I don’t—I don’t know how you could miss them.”

“It’s because the complex is so bland! No one’s put up anything!”

“Well, we can’t exactly fit a Christmas tree in here. That and, I don’t think we really own any decorations… You should see Larry’s place, though. Lisa went all out.”

“There’s always the Charlie Brown twig for your place,” she joked. “I can’t believe I haven’t been to Larry’s in a week. Mom _better_ unban me soon or I’ll—oh my god! We should have a Christmas party!”

He was blindsided by the sudden topic change. He had nearly forgotten Bugs’ mom had prohibited her trips to Larry’s place since the study session. She’d been grounded for the entire week of exams, only allowed to study at the library with the gang. Luckily, she got away with hanging out at Sally’s apartment, but her mom refused to let up on the basement.

“That could be fun,” he instigated. “Dirty Santa?”

“ _Obviously_. Maybe I should hang up mistletoe for Maple and Chug,” she hummed, tapping her chin before giving him a sly gaze. “Or you.”

“W-what?” he sputtered. “Why me?”

She gave him an odd look.

“‘Cause of Ashley? Duh!”

He stared at her for a moment, heart dropping.

“Oh.”

“Were you hoping I’d say Larry? Cmon, dude, what’s with the flat “ _oh_ ,” she totally likes you!”

He shrugged, scratching at the crook of his arm.

“I dunno, I can’t really see it happening.”

Bugs eyed him, tone turning serious. “Because it’s her or because it’s you?” He shrugged again and she sighed, shaking her head. “Well, I for one think your hella boyfriend material, Sally. You should go after her if you like her before she’s taken.”

“Yeah,” he muttered, flushing beneath his prosthetic. “Right.”

“Well, we better get to cleaning,” she said, getting to her feet as she bit off a massive chunk of the candy bar for fuel. “Then we call up the gang and see about having that party.”

“I think there’s some old Christmas decorations in the basement we can use if we have it.”

“ _Noice_. Now, where them trash bags at?”

“Under the sink,” he chuckled.

“Hear me out,” Larry said, gaining everyone’s attention at the table. Thoe sipping their coffees or hot cocoa’s paused, plastic bags crinkling under shuffling feet.

By some miracle, everyone had been free that afternoon to meet up at the thrift store at the edge of town to talk about plans for the Christmas party. Everyone had agreed to have it early in the afternoon on Christmas eve since everyone was staying home for the holidays. The thrift store had been Bugs' idea as everyone needed to find dirty Santa gifts and they weren’t exactly made of money at the moment. Rules were simple: nothing outrageous, no underwear, and be creative.

Now here they were, eight highschoolers (Neil had made it, too) with various bags from the thrift store shoved under their seats at the local diner. It was one of the bigger booths, but everyone was cramped, most of Larry and Bugs who had taken the window seats. Sal had scooted in next to her and Ashley right after him, leaving him bumping elbows with the two girls every time he reached for the glorified chocolate milk made warm.

“We’re listening,” Bugs droned, cheek on her hand. Her entire left side was shoved up against the table, trying to make room for her friends at the end of the seat.

“No, we’re not,” notified Tod, standing up with a huff. “Give me a moment, I’m going to find two chairs for Neil and me.”

“Sorry, we’re kind of on the edge of our seats,” Neil explained with a gentle laugh as he stood. Now with more room, Ashley moved down along with Maple across from her. Sal reluctantly followed, leaving behind the warmth Bugs radiated.

Once two chairs were brought over for the couple and they got comfortable again, all eyes were back on Larry.

“Proceed,” said Tod.

“Alright, imagine this,” he began raising both hands for dramatic effect, “Christmas party in my treehouse. What do you think?”

“Really?” Sal gawked. “I thought that was your special hangout.”

“I can make sacrifices for the holidays,” he sniffed, smug as he looked up.

“It’ll be kinda small, don’t you think?”

“And cold,” Bugs added. “It was cold when you brought me last time.”

“So we bring a generator, plug in a heater and some Christmas lights, and voila!”

“Sounds plausible,” Tod commented, sipping his coffee. He wasn’t a big fan of sweets, whereas Neil was on his second mug of hot cocoa. “We can still bundle up if all else fails.”

“I have a cd player I can bring. My mom has tons of Christmas music,” Ashley announced.

Maple raised her hand quietly. “I could...make some cookies.”

“Oh, rad!” Chug said, munching on a side of fries.

“I can find us a generator,” stated Neil.

“Well, this is certainly coming altogether,” Bugs laughed, turning to Sal. “Guess you and I are on decoration duty.”

“Yeah,” he murmured, nudging a red straw under his mask. “This’ll be fun.”

“My Mom probably has extra stuff we could use,” Ashley said, overhearing them. “I’ll bring it over. When are you gonna start, you think?”

Bugs shrugged. “Probably the day before or the same morning. I’m free whenever.”

Ashley looked at the boy between them. “What about you, Sally?”

He noisily sucked on air at the end of the straw, having run out of his beverage sooner than he thought.

“Same,” he answered, quiet.

“Do we have to wrap the dirty Santa gifts?” Chug asked.

“Yes!” Bugs cheered. “But if you have shit wrapping skills, like me, shove that present into a bag and cover it with colorful tissue paper!”

“Period,” Larry chuckled. “Honestly, my mom will probably get to it before I do. She is mad serious about wrapping presents--has to keep her holiday aesthetic perfect and all.”

“We love her enthusiasm. She’s the Christmas queen.”

Everyone got a kick out of that, breaking off into smaller conversations. Bugs, leaning over Sal, squishing him with her crossed arms as he sunk in his seat, laughing. She smiled at Ashley, ignoring the fact she was crushing her best friend in favor of speaking to her other best friend.

“How was your trip by the way? I didn’t think you’d be back today, but I’m glad you were! Did you get in early?”

Confusion clouded Ashley’s face as Sal stared at Larry in horror through his mask. Larry looked about ready to shit himself.

“What trip?” she asked.

“Larry said you went on a trip,” Bugs explained, glancing at the brunet in question. “Sal and I wanted to have a movie marathon with some of the gang, but everyone was busy.”

“Oh, well, I never went on a trip. I did last year, to Hawaii.” Ashley turned towards Larry, questioning.

“I thought you were going again,” he said, scratching his chin. “Someone mentioned it at school before we got out.”

She shook her head. “Nah, it’s too expensive to go two years in a row.”

“Well, damn! You missed out on all the horror films!” Bugs whined.

Ashley just laughed, “We can do it again soon!”

The two boys let out a collective sigh. Larry relaxed a bit too hard, hand knocking into a glass and sending soda all over the table. Everyone jumped up, yelping.

“My fries!” Chug complained.

“I’ll go get napkins,” Tod sighed.

“Oh, it’s dripping onto the seats!” shrilled Bugs, standing to avoid the dripping waterfall. Luckily, no one was sitting behind them, leaving her to make a swift escape. Sally followed after her while Ashley scrambled off the end of the booth.

“I hope none of the presents got wet,” Neil said, grabbing his own off the floor.

“The bags should protect them, somewhat,” Sal assumed, ducking under the clean booth to grab his and the girls' things. He made sure not to look in either of them.

“Well, meeting adjourned, I guess,” Ashley laughed, shaking a few stray drops off her bag.

“Time to pay the bills,” sang Bugs, making off for the front of the diner. “Last one back to the apartments is rotten eggnog!”

“Hah! I see what you did there,” Larry cackled, everyone followed after the girl to pay for their seasonal drinks and snacks. He and Sal took up the back of the group. When no one was listening, he crouched down, muttering, “That was fucking close.”

“Teaches you not to lie about stuff,” Sal warned. “I _knew_ you were bullshitting.”

“I was being a wingman, dude! Cut me some slack!”

Yeah, he couldn’t complain. It had been a nice night to spend alone with his crush.

If only she knew that instead of pushing him off on his previous one.

 _Of course, this is my life,_ he thought, watching Bugs tip their waitress on the way out with a great big smile. She caught his gaze and flipped him the bird teasingly, before darting out the front door. She ran past the glass window, laughing maniacally with her hands in the air, the thrift store bag trailing in the wind over her head as she stopped at the corner, waiting for the walking signal to cross the street. Luck was on her side for the race she declared, as it turned right as she made it to the striped section of the road.

“Man, we’re gonna be rotten eggnog,” Larry joked, studying the scene along with Sal.

“Tell me about it,” he huffed, smiling as she strutted across, the cold wind sending her around her head.

There were two seconds of a horn going off before he noticed the car heading for her. He thought he remembered seeing her head whip towards it, but it was all a blur now.

The sound of a shotgun had haunted him for years, but...

Some part of him now believed the blaring of a car horn before her body was hit was far,

_far_

worse.


End file.
